Editorial

Shootout in Dir

Until the security forces have regained complete control in Dir, they will not be able to claim a victory.

Editorial April 24, 2011

Shootout in Dir

A two-day shootout between security personnel and militants in Lower Dir has shown once again that government claims of having defeated the militants are hollow. It is ironic, then, that Chief of Army Staff Ashfaq Parvez Kayani said in a speech on April 23, that the military had broken the back of militants linked to al Qaeda and the Taliban. The fighting in Dir, which claimed the lives of 14 security personnel and 20 militants, directly contradicts Kayani’s assertion. Despite having claimed last year that Dir has been cleared of all militants last year, it is clear that the local police and paramilitary forces are engaged in a struggle to the death with the militants. The operation in Lower Dir began after militants, believed to have crossed over from Afghanistan, attacked a check post in Jandulmayar. This prompted the security forces to impose a curfew.

Until the security forces have regained complete control in Dir, they will not be able to claim victory over the militants. The district shares borders with Swat, Afghanistan and Bajaur Agency and so has become a strategically vital area for the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan’s (TTP) Swat chapter, whose leader Maulana Fazlullah was driven out of Swat and into Nuristan, Afghanistan. With the TTP Swat chapter now looking to regain a foothold in Pakistan, militants from the group will surely first try and build a base in Dir before moving on to Swat. It is essential that this growing menace be nipped in the bud immediately, otherwise there is a danger that the successes of the Swat operation from 2009 will be undone. For now, the focus in the war against militants seems to be North Waziristan Agency. Most US drone attacks target alleged militants in the area and the Pakistan military is being pushed into carrying out a major operation there. Without denying the importance of North Waziristan, the latest attack in Dir shows that it would be folly only to concentrate on one area. The government and the military instead need to develop a holistic strategy that would deny militants safe havens and launching pads for attacks in any area of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 25^th, 2011.

COMMENTS (2)

R S JOHAR | 13 years ago | Reply An apt Editorial on terrorists raising their heads in areas supposedly cleared by the Army. The operation conducted against the TTP appeared to be flawed since the terrorists melted away to safe havens of Aghanistan and with their infrastructure still intact, are mounting attacks on civilian and military targets without any hinderance. As pointed out rightly in the editorial, the army needs to re-invent its strategy and mounting hammer and anvil type attacks on TTP will be more appropriate strategy in counter-insurgency operations to destroy the outfit's infrastructure which will envolve both American and Pak troops on both sides of Afghan-Pak border.

Viqar ul Haq | 13 years ago | Reply The fighting in Dir, which claimed the lives of 14 security personnel and 20 militants, contradicts government’s assertion that claimed last year that Dir has been cleared of all militants, it is clear that the local police and paramilitary forces are engaged in a struggle with the militants. The operation in Lower Dir prompted the security forces to regain complete control in Dir to be able to claim victory over the militants. The latest attack shows that the government and the military need to develop a holistic strategy that would deny militants safe havens and launching pads for attacks anywhere in the country

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