If the media reports were any indicator, the Pakistani army is almost set for fulfilling a long-standing American demand; a conclusive offensive against the Haqqani Network (HQN) nestled in Pakistan semi-autonomous North Waziristan and the Paktia Region of eastern Afghanistan.
North Waziristan is one of the seven Pakistan tribal regions bordering Afghanistan, spread over roughly 5,000 sq. km., with a population of 361,246 according to the last official census in 1998. The hilly terrain there is inhabited mainly by the Utmanzai Wazir and Daur tribesmen. Over the years, it has turned into a beehive of militants of various denominations from all across the country and elsewhere, especially after the intensification of military operations, like Operation Raah-e-Raast in Malakand Division of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) from April 2009 to August 2009, followed by Operation Raah-e-Nijaat in South Waziristan from October 2009 to March 2010.
Hafiz Gul Bahadur is the commander of the North Waziristan-based Tehreeke Taliban militants. The overall supervision of the militants in the agency as well as the adjacent Kurram agency and the Khost, Paktika, and Paktya provinces of Afghanistan is under Sirajuddin Haqqani, the eldest son of Jalaluddin Haqqani, who was an important commander during the anti-Soviet jihad in the 1980s. Named the Haqqani Network (HQN) by the Americans, Haqqani followers are also believed to be closely cooperating with al-Qaeda. Prominent al-Qaeda leaders of Pakistani origin like Ilyas Kashmiri ( who had founded and used the Brigade 313 in Indian Kashmir) and Qari Zafar as well as several Arabs and Uzbeks are believed to be hiding with the Haqqanis in North Waziristan. This is the reason the U.S. considers HQN a bigger threat than the ¿so called– Quetta Shura Taliban (QST) led by Mullah Omar. The QST is believed to be having a local agenda restricted to Afghanistan, while the HQN¶owing to its strong ties with al-Qaeda¶is believed to have a global agenda.
North Waziristan has dodged a major military offensive since September 2006, when the military signed a peace-deal with the militants based there. Time seems to be running out, however, for the volatile region, with the increasing pressure from the U.S. During their recent visit on May 27, U.S. Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, and Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff, Adm. Mike Mullen, were pretty categorical about the need for Pakistan to swallow the bitter pill of a military offensive in North Waziristan. During her press conference at the U.S. Embassy along with Adm. Mullen, Secretary Clinton said, ‘And we heard today for short term cooperation some very specific actions that Pakistan will take and that we will take together. And we reaffirmed our commitment to the medium and long-term relationship.’[1] Secretary Clinton was referring to the North Waziristan operation when she talked of specific actions.
While a military operation by Pakistani army in North Waziristan was a long-standing American demand, pressure was seriously mounting on Pakistan for it since the killing of Osama Bin Laden (OBL) in Abbottabad on May 2. In her speech during the press conference, Secretary Clinton said that it ‘was an especially important visit because [the two countries had] reached a turning point.’[2]
Both the U.S. officials made sure that Pakistan is given a stern warning. There were no joint statements or joint press conferences of the officials of the two countries during the visit. ‘Mrs. Clinton and Admiral Mullen appeared awkward and unsmiling when they met at the presidential palace with President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani and the army chief, Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani,’ wrote the New York Times.[3] Secretary Clinton and Adm. Mullen, nevertheless, spoke with the press at the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad , while Pakistan Ministry of Foreign Affairs had a separate Press Briefing on May 28th.
As a military operation in North Waziristan looks imminent, Pakistanis are also having cold because of the possible blow-back by extensions of the militant groups based in that region. The impending action under incessant American pressure in fact represents a paradox; the U.S. wants Pakistan to sort out Taliban militants ´ Pakistani and Afghan ´ that it says are attacking the Coalition forces in Afghanistan. But for its part, Washington trouble-shooters appear wooing Taliban to turn the reconciliation process into a success. For this the American leaders want Pakistan support as part of a strategy to separate the Haqqani Network from Al Qaeda, which the Americans believe serves as the mainstay for the trans-nationalist terrorist organisaation. It therefore remains questionable as to whether a military offensive in North Waziristan entails what the Obama administration is looking for i.e. a success story that would enable Obama to order the beginning of the phased withdrawal from Afghanistan.
[1] Transcript of Secretary Clinton and Admiral Mullen’s Remarks available at the U.S. Embassy Islamabad website at http://islamabad.usembassy.gov/sp-052711.html
[2] Ibid.
[3] Myers, Steven Lee: ‘In Tense Post-Bin Laden Trip to Pakistan, Clinton Seeks Firm Action on Extremists’ in New York Times, May 27, 2011.