Pakistan Military Begins Decisive Anti-Terrorism Drive

Lisa Curtis / October 19, 2009

The Pakistan military began a long-awaited offensive in South Waziristan along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border over the weekend. The region has served as the principal base of operations for an amalgam of terrorist groups, including al-Qaeda, the Pakistani Taliban, and groups formerly based in the Punjab, including Jaish-e-Mohammed and Lashkar-e-Jhangvi.

The Pakistanis launched the operation on Saturday following a string of major terrorist attacks across the country over the last two weeks, including a 20-hour hostage stand-off at the Army’s General Headquarters in Rawalpindi. If the militants were hoping to deter the Army from moving forward with the Waziristan offensive, they clearly failed. In fact, the attacks over the last two weeks appear to have stiffened the resolve of the military and unified their ranks to go after the militants, even those whom previously were viewed as assets against Pakistan’s historical rival, India. (more…)