Delaying tactics in N Waziristan

Giving Kayani the benefit of the doubt, one could say he is waiting till he can marshal his full resources.

As Army Chief General Ashfaq Kayani rebuffs yet another demand by Isaf forces to go after militants in North Waziristan, saying Pakistan would go into the dangerous terrain when its “national priorities” will allow it the opportunity to do so, what is perhaps most evident is that the country, is at most, buying time before it is forced to wage war in the agency.

To his credit, the general has managed to hold off the West on its demand for operations in North Waziristan for quite some time now, first offering them Swat and Bajaur and then South Waziristan, Orakzai and other agencies. The floods came and provided yet another distraction, enabling the army to avoid operations in an area it appears not to be comfortable in, and seems unwilling to get involved. From a western perspective, giving General Kayani the benefit of the doubt, one could say he is waiting till he can marshal his full resources and, without distraction, march into the forbidden territory to eliminate the scourge of terrorism once and for all. Given of course, that North Waziristan is the final solution. As US and Nato forces in Afghanistan fail to achieve their objectives after years of fighting and as the deadline for withdrawal edges closer with no final solution in sight, North Waziristan, the ‘epicentre of al Qaeda’,  becomes the be all and end all, assuming proportions inching towards the mythical, in winning the war on terror.

Then there is talk of a deal with Jalaluddin Haqqani, according to which his men will not carry out attacks in the country if Pakistan lets them be. But given the extent of pressure the Obama administration has been exerting on the Pakistan Army for months now, one must seriously consider what the end of such a deal may augur for Pakistan, which already has what can be seen as an urban terror infrastructure. Bring together arguments that whatever may happen to the US in Afghanistan and whatever the course of their future in the region may be, Pakistan is geographically bound being Afghanistan’s physical neighbour.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 8^th, 2010.