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The Pakistan army bombs militant positions in South Waziristan - Source: ONE News -
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Pakistani forces backed by heavy artillery attacked Taliban
insurgents as the army moved to wrest control of militant
strongholds in a lawless region on the Afghan border.
The fighting is a new test of the government's determination to
tackle an increasingly brazen insurgency that has seen a string of
attacks in different parts of the country, including an assault on
army headquarters, in which more than 150 people were killed.
The conflict in what is considered a global hub for Islamic
militants is being closely followed by the United States and other
powers already embroiled in neighbouring Afghanistan, and on Monday
General David Petraeus, commander of US forces in the region, was
in Pakistan for talks.
With the Pakistani army claiming progress in fighting the Taliban
in South Waziristan, analysts expect resistance to weaken as the
militants are squeezed out of their strongholds.
"When forces take over Waziristan than you will definitely see the
resistance waning," said retired Brigadier Asad Munir, a former
Inter Services Intelligence officer, who said he expected
operations to take at least six weeks.
He said the militants may initially intensify bomb attacks on
government targets, but once cleared from their strongholds their
basic capability of training and launching people in different
parts of Pakistan ... is going to be diluted.
On Monday, residents of Wana, the main urban centre in South
Waziristan, said there had been heavy fighting overnight.
"There has been artillery fire throughout the night. It was very
heavy firing," Noor Wali said.
The army said on Sunday that 60 militants and five soldiers had
been killed in the first 24 hours of the long-awaited
offensive.
There was no independent verification of the casualty toll.
Hard-core Taliban
About 28,000 soldiers are battling an estimated 10,000 hard-core
Taliban, including about 1,000 tough Uzbek fighters and some Arab
al Qaeda members.
The militants have had years to prepare their bunkers in the land
of arid mountains and sparse forests cut through by dried-up creeks
and ravines.
The army says it has surrounded the militants in their main zone, a
wedge of territory in the north, and soldiers backed by aircraft
and artillery were attacking from the north, southwest and
southeast.
Foreign reporters are not allowed in to the area, and it is
dangerous for Pakistani reporters to visit.
Many of the Pakistani reporters based in South Waziristan have
left.
The army has launched brief offensives in South Waziristan before,
the first in 2004 when it suffered heavy casualties before striking
a peace pact.
But this time analysts say the army, the government and the general
public all agree the time has come to deal with the Pakistani
Taliban.
Though the military is determined, the offensive could be its
toughest test since the militants turned on the state, and the army
will be hoping other Afghan Taliban factions stay out of the
fight.
About 100,000 civilians have fled from South Waziristan in
anticipation of the offensive, with about 16,000 of them coming out
in the last few days, the army said.
But the exodus is not expected to bring a humanitarian crisis
similar to one this year when about two million people fled from an
offensive in the Swat valley, northwest of Islamabad.
South Waziristan's population is about 500,000, according to the
latest figures, and many residents have houses on
government-controlled lowland to the east.
People traditionally head up to Waziristan in the summer with
their flocks and back to the lowland in the autumn.
While investors in Pakistani stocks have become used to militant
attacks, the violence over the past two weeks has made them
nervous.
Stocks fell early on Monday.
"There is anxiety among them due to the security situation and
that's why most local institutions and investors are not very
aggressive," said Sajid Bhanji, a dealer at Arif Habib Ltd.
The Karachi Stock Exchange's benchmark 100-share index was 2.41%,
or 98.55 points, lower at 9,592.12 points at 0800 GMT.
