Four security personnel were killed and five others injured when heavily armed militants attacked military personnel in the tribal region of South Waziristan couple of days ago. Since the start of the operation Zarb.e.Azb previous year about 350 military personnel have embraced martyrdom. Zrb-e-Azb is being executed by fighter and reconnaissance elements of the Pakistan Air Force, ground troops, air surveillance and tactical air platforms of the Pakistan Army and Special Forces from the army and navy. The operation is being conducted against criminals comprising of diverse militant groups, including the Tehreek-i- Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, Jundullah, al Qaeda, the East Turkistan Islamic Movement (ETIM), the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU) and the Haqqani Network. A year in, Operation Zarb-e-Azb has inflicted heavy casualties on the militants and, according to ISPR, 2,763 militants have been killed by June 13 in 9,000 intelligence-based operations, including 218 terrorist commanders. Some 837 terrorist hideouts have been destroyed and 253 tonnes of explosives recovered so far during the operation, along with 18,087 weapons. It has also been claimed that 90 percent of NWA has been cleared of militants. However, Military has also faced a huge loss in the operation. The increasing attacks on military personnle and check points South Waziristan is raising so many question marks. Considering how delicately Pakistan’s position in the wider war against terrorism hinges on a successful military sweep of the tribal area, the army cannot afford incidents that push it on the back foot, however temporarily.Yet, strangely, the incident also scores a point for the military. One reason operations in the six agencies (other than NW) lasted so long was that regional demographics allowed militatns to slip between agencies with little difficulty. Once the army cleared one and moved to another, militants would circumvent the advance and snake their way back. With no political system, especially, they quickly found pockets of strength and influence again. But since Zarb-e-Azb, the logistic loopholes have been managed very well. There has been little news, if any, of militants able to easily brew trouble in South Waziristan. Remember this is the border area where thick jungle cover rebutted even nato attempts at successful quarantine on the other side of the Durand Line. Therefore one cannot expect a complete annihilation of terrorists.
pk.shafaqna.com
