Control over Pakistan seems to be slipping into the hands of the Taliban — with no apparent ability to prevent this. PHOTO: REUTERS/FILE
On January 2, armed militants, reportedly wearing military uniform, abducted seven soldiers near Jand in Punjab. Military officials have confirmed the incident, which comes just a few days after 22 personnel of the Levies Force were kidnapped check posts on the outskirts of Peshawar. They were killed a short while later after negotiations for their release broke down. It is assumed the talks, from the Taliban side may have focused on the release of the hostages or ransom demands. The Jand incident follows a similar pattern. The soldiers taken hostage were on their way from Rawalpindi to stations in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa when they were kidnapped. It is assumed a demand of some kind will now be made though its nature is hard to predict.
What is clear is that the Taliban are expanding their range of operations. Jand is not an area they have been known to operate in before. It also seems that the militants are familiar with military movements, and their attacks meticulously staged. The use of military uniform is reminiscent of similar actions in the past, with the garments obviously realistic enough to fool real soldiers. Control over Pakistan seems to be slipping into the hands of the Taliban — with no apparent ability to prevent this. If the military cannot guard itself, it is unclear how it can be expected to protect the civilian population or rein in a force that seems to be operating at will and quite rapidly expanding operations to parts of the country where it previously appeared to have little ability to act.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 7th, 2013.
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