Kamran Shafi - Senior Columnist

It seems to me that the armed forces are serious this time to root out the evil, judging from the number of drone strikes which have been known to take out the most vicious of the terrorists in the past.

The problem is the 'commanders' of the terrorists who are said to have escaped into Afghanistan. The Afghan and ISAF forces must be co-opted in the fight to block and hit them on the other side: what is known as the ‘hammer and anvil’ tactics.

The factors most important to the operation’s success are the elimination of cruel and heartless 'leaders of the faithful' like Fazlullah, Muslim Khan and others of their ilk. Why not Mullah Omar himself, the Emir of the so-called Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan and Pakistan! Remember that the TTP have called him their Ultimate Leader!