Pakistan is buying time in North Waziristan -- gathering intelligence, building alliances and insisting any assault into the Taliban and al Qaeda fortress take place at its own time and choosing..
| Buying time for what? And from whom, pray tell? |
Part of the tribal belt on the Afghan border, North Waziristan is home to 350,000 people but considered a stronghold for the most dangerous terrorists in the world and largely impenetrable. It is also a rumoured hiding place of al Qaeda chief Osama Bin Laden. Commanders are walking a tightrope, balancing US pressure for action against fears that a major push into the hornet's nest would make enemies they cannot beat and drag Pakistan into a new wave of violence. "The army is already over-stretched after carrying out offensives in other tribal regions," one Pakistani security official told AFP. "Security forces got in touch with local tribesmen in a policy of dialogue and asked them not to harbour any insurgents, and this policy has worked," he said.
"There are problems in North Waziristan where the TTP has established a presence," another senior security official told AFP. "The issue is how to handle these problems. Security forces don't want to lose the gains made in South Waziristan and north-western regions, including Swat," he said, warning that any hasty relocation of troops could lead to a deterioration in those areas. "Fears of a fierce reaction by Punjab-based terrorists, because of their links with the TTP chief Hakimullah Mehsud and the Haqqani and Bahadur networks might be one reason holding the army back," analyst Imtiaz Gul said. Instead of a major assault, Gul said a North Waziristan operation would be "selective" -- at a time and on a scale of the military's choosing. For example, troops may try and "shrink the space" for local facilitators of al Qaeda, such as the TTP and Lashkar-e-Jhangvi. |