The military has received continued praise from American military commanders and political leaders. But more important is the fact that we continue to see success in efforts to drive Taliban butchers out of our towns and villages. Even as we continue to beat them back, though, the militants are continuing to target innocents with their nefarious attacks. Some people say we should negotiate with these terrorists and compromise with the people who are killing our innocents. I disagree.
An article in Dawn yesterday is a reminder of why it is important to build a strategic partnership with the American military so we can get the supplies and counter insurgency training that are key to defeating our REAL enemy.
The Mingora bombing is a grim reminder that while the nation’s attention has turned elsewhere, Swat still poses a serious challenge. In the days leading up to the bombing, it is believed that a former militant commander of Mingora had sneaked back into the area along with several associates and was planning fresh strikes.
A trip to the region scheduled over the weekend by President Zardari and army chief Gen Kayani was also quietly called off. Yet, this does not necessarily mean that a deadly new phase is beginning in the counter-insurgency in Swat. While it was always predicted that the militants would try to melt into the local population after it returned and then renew their attacks against the security forces, the scale of the re-infiltration is not clear yet.
Bear in mind that operations elsewhere have knock-on effects on the various militant sub-groups. The latest army-led operation in Bajaur is believed to have forced militants who had regrouped there to flee elsewhere. Maulana Fazlullah himself is believed to be on the move again and could be in Dir or Afghanistan or the Charmang area of Bajaur. Complicating matters further are rifts among the militants. Faqir Mohammad, the warlord who controlled the safe haven in Bajaur where Maulana Fazlullah was believed to be hiding earlier, has been ejected by an Afghan-Pakistani militant commander, Qari Ziaur Rehman, which could be yet another reason for Swat TTP militants to be on the run again.
While the precise movements may appear confusing, there is little doubt that the army’s push into many parts of Pakistan — up to 11 areas by the army’s own count — has forced the militants to keep moving from place to place. That represents a clear opportunity: it is easier to capture the enemy when he is on the run and moving through areas that are not very familiar. But there does appear to be a lack of reliable and actionable intelligence in real time. Citizen policing has proved effective in parts of Swat, for example, but it cannot go beyond a certain point.
What’s needed is a trained police force with significant intelligence-gathering capabilities. There is an added benefit of such a force: with reprisal killings on the rise and more arrests being made, an effective police force can help curb vigilantism and bring militants to justice. And yet so much time has already been lost in bureaucratic debate. Even in Pakistan proper the provinces have yet to seriously ramp up their police forces. Without such counter-terrorism capabilities, the country will struggle in its long war against militancy.
This was is not over, and these jihadi militants are not going to give up easily. We should not be talking about negotiating a surrender of Pakistan to these invaders. Instead we should be preparing our forces to root them out for good. A strategic relationship with American military will help make this possible.
The military to military relations between the US and Pakistan seems to be gradually improving. There is a greater level of mutual confidence and less talk of ‘do more’. This has been achieved by enhanced cooperation at operational and intelligence level and is benefiting both sides. It seems sharing is taking place even at the planning stage to ensure greater synergy and to make sure that the operations undertaken by the US on the Afghan side do not have a negative fallout on Pakistan or vice-versa. The importance the US attaches to Pakistan is demonstrated by the frequency of visits by the US military leaders as well. General McChrystal, Commander of the US and ISAF forces, must have visited his counterpart no less than three to four times in one month alone. In addition, General Petraeus and Admiral Mullen, too, are keeping close contacts with General Kayani and other military and civilian leaders. This has resulted in expanded cooperation on a broad front. There is cooperation in training on new equipment and sharing of counter-insurgency doctrines and practices. Our army, although professionally capable, is constrained by the past and it is only through extensive training that we can prepare for the conflict that we are currently facing. This is even more relevant to the training of Frontier Corps whose role in counter-insurgency operations is expanding. Supply of weapons and equipment from the US has somewhat improved, but still there are shortages in critical areas like helicopters, surveillance equipment and specialised vehicles.