WASHINGTON, Oct 3: Pakistan is losing the war against extremists, giving the Al Qaeda and the Taliban more territory in which to operate, a front-page article in The Washington Post said on Wednesday.
The emboldened militants had become increasingly ambitious, carrying out attacks at targets deep inside Pakistan, the report added.
The Post underlined two factors for the increase in activities of militants: collapse of peace deals between the government and tribal elders in Waziristan and President Pervez Musharraf’s political troubles.
According to the report, the government has deferred developing a new strategy to defeat militants until Gen Musharraf can resolve a political crisis that threatens his presidency.
Pakistan’s military, on the other hand, is considering pulling back from the fight — at least partially — in the face of mounting losses, the official said.
“They’re not trained for a counterinsurgency. It’s not their number one priority. It’s not even their number two priority,” said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. “These are the reasons things aren’t going their way.” Pakistani military officials concede they are searching for a new strategy now that the old one has gone awry. But with Gen Musharraf struggling to stay in office and expected to soon step down from the military, no decisions are likely until questions over the country’s leadership are settled.
The deals that the government made with tribal elders in Waziristan, gave Al Qaeda and the Taliban sanctuary in which to train, plot and launch attacks.
Now, security experts say Pakistan is paying the price for not confronting the problem head-on, with militant groups capitalising on their newfound strength. At least 54 people, mainly soldiers, have been killed in militant strikes since last month.
“The insurgent strikes represent a humiliating breakdown in security for the world’s sixth-largest army. But most embarrassing is the fact that about 250 soldiers remain in Taliban hands more than a month after they were taken hostage,” the report adds.
“The troops’ surrender has called into question the army’s commitment to fighting an unpopular war that requires Pakistanis to kill their countrymen. It has also exposed the army to ridicule.”
The report notes that several soldiers now in the Taliban custody have been beheaded and one such incident in which an execution was carried out by a teenage boy was taped.
“While Waziristan is believed to be the operational headquarters for the insurgency, militant groups have expanded their reach significantly over the past year. They now have a firm grip not only on the tribal areas that line the Afghan border but on other sections of northwest Pakistan as well,” the report adds.
Even in the provincial capital, Peshawar, “residents are beginning to feel besieged, with the surrounding countryside falling under insurgents’ sway and assailants occasionally carrying out attacks in Peshawar.”
Even hard-line religious leaders are not safe. Last month, one of Peshawar’s most prominent clerics, Maulana Hassan Jan, was assassinated as he rode in his car to evening prayers.
Qibla Ayaz, dean of the Islamic studies programme at Peshawar University, told the Post that traditional religious and political leaders were losing ground because people considered them “very soft” against Gen Musharraf and America.
The report notes that although the United States has pumped about $10 billion into Pakistan since 2001, the aid does not seem to have won the US many friends in Pakistan. Nor has it successfully prepared the Pakistani army to battle militants. “The sad thing about it is that a lot of these militants are better off than the Frontier Corps,” said the Western official, referring to the Pakistani force that is supposed to be on the front lines fighting the Taliban and Al Qaeda.
The militants “have rockets. They have advanced weapons. And the Frontier Corps has sandals and a bolt-action rifle.”
