Pakistan to launch military operation against Taliban

PESHAWAR, Pakistan: Pakistan is set to launch a military operation against Taliban militants who have threatened the main city in the country's volatile northwest, the army spokesman said Saturday.

Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas told The Associated Press the army was readying the paramilitary Frontier Corps to target militants in the Khyber tribal region, which is next to Peshawar. Khyber is also a key route for U.S. military supplies into neighboring Afghanistan.

Abbas declined to give further details of the military deployment, citing operational security. "The operation is imminent," he said.

A round-the-clock curfew was imposed in the Bara area, which starts on the outskirts of Peshawar, and heavy contingents of troops were deployed, blocking the main road into Khyber, said Mujeeb Khan, a senior local official.

"All bazars are shut and residents have been asked not to come out of their homes," he said.
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Provincial officials say the operation will be launched within 48 hours, but the deployment of troops suggested it was effectively under way. Local newspapers reported hospitals in Peshawar had been put on alert.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because military operations in the tribal regions are decided by the federal government and the military.

One senior official said the Pakistan military has made contingency plans to protect the provincial capital from insurgents that might try to retaliate with attacks in Peshawar, where more than 1 million people live.

There has been growing concern about the threat posed by Islamic militants on the city. Two weeks ago, a Taliban force from Khyber sent its militants into Peshawar and kidnapped 16 Christians, who were later released.

"The situation is such that they (Taliban) are all around Peshawar. They are on our doorstep," Mahmood Shah, a former security chief in the tribal regions told AP on Friday. "The situation is like water flowing into a field and until you have some obstruction to stop it, you will drown. We are drowning."

Taliban have posted notices in some villages on the outskirts of Peshawar telling residents to seek justice through their parallel courts rather than the local judiciary, he said.

In Pakistan's tribal regions that border Afghanistan, jurisdiction lies with the federal government in Islamabad. Decisions to conduct military operations there are taken by the Islamabad government.

A leadership vacuum in Islamabad had supplied more oxygen to a burgeoning Taliban movement, which now controls the entire tribal belt, Shah said.

"It is completely under their control. Everyone now is waiting for some action from the federal government, some coherent policy decision," he said.

February elections brought a new civilian government to power, eclipsing former army strongman and staunch U.S. ally President Pervez Musharraf. In a shift in policy, the new administration has supported peace efforts with Taliban militants to try to curb an explosion in violence in the northwest over the past year.

But Pakistan's Western allies are increasingly concerned that easing up military pressure on the militants has given them more space to operate — letting them strengthen their position in Pakistan's border regions and giving them more freedom to attack U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan.

Earlier this week, Pakistan government and military leaders gave their strongest commitment yet to combat militancy and signaled it reserved the right to use force.

At meetings in Peshawar on Friday, federal and provincial representatives hammered out the details of the Khyber operation, and also discussed the situation in the restive Swat area, where the provincial government has signed a peace deal with a radical pro-Taliban cleric, provincial officials said.

Afrasiab Khattak, chief negotiator for the provincial government, told AP the province is considering seeking another military operation in Swat, where militants forced out by an army offensive last year are now regaining a foothold. There have been arson attacks on girls schools and an upscale hotel in recent days.

Khattak said the military last year drove the insurgents into surrounding mountains but left their leadership intact. He said the provincial government's negotiations have been with militants who have disavowed any connection with recent attacks.

"We want the army to go in and attack the leadership and not leave them in a position to return to the towns and villages and again attack," he said. "This is what we will be discussing for Swat."