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Pakistan army HQ siege shows fierce Taliban come-back: analysts
Islamabad (AFP) Oct 11, 2009 An audacious siege at Pakistan's army headquarters is deeply embarrassing for the military and shows the Islamist militant threat to the nuclear-armed nation is far from quashed, analysts say. The government and armed forces have been trumpeting their military successes against the Taliban in the northwest Swat valley and hailing the death of militant commander Baitullah Mehsud in a US missile strike in August. But instead of following up their Swat offensive with an all-out assault in the northwest tribal areas, the army instead have given the militants breathing space to regroup and stage a fierce come-back, experts told AFP. The militant strike at the heart of the military establishment on Saturday and Sunday left 19 people dead, and was the third dramatic attack in less than a week, after the Taliban vowed to avenge Baitullah Mehsud's death. "This incident will be very embarrassing for the armed forces," said Brigadier Saad Mohammad Khan, Pakistan's former defence attache in Kabul. "This will also trigger insecurity and despondency among the people and they will be forced to think that even those who are responsible for providing them security are themselves so vulnerable and insecure." The army launched a fierce operation in the former tourist paradise of Swat valley in April this year, after militants bent on imposing a harsh brand of Islamic law advanced to within 100 kilometres (60 miles) of Islamabad. With nearly 2,200 militants dead in the region, Interior Minister Rehman Malik claimed to have "broken the back" of the militia. But a raid on a UN office that left five dead in the capital on Monday, a suicide car bombing that killed 52 civilians in northwest Peshawar on Friday and the latest strike in garrison city Rawalpindi cast doubt on that claim. "There are weaknesses in the security system. Perceptions that recent operations have broken the back of the Taliban have proven wrong. They have staged a come-back with lot of precision," said defence analyst Hasan Askari. Military and government officials have for months been threatening to also take on the insurgents in the northwest semi-autonomous tribal region along the Afghan border, the bastion of the Taliban leadership and an Al-Qaeda bolthole. "We should expect more such attacks because the Taliban want to shift attention of security forces away from tribal areas," Askari said. "They will try their best to target important installations." Their ability to strike was starkly illustrated with the brazen raid on the heavily-fortified army headquarters near Islamabad. Thirty-nine hostages were freed after a day-long siege, but eight soldiers, three hostages and eight militants were killed in the initial attacks Saturday and the army rescue operation Sunday. The United States has put Pakistan at the heart of its fight against the Taliban and Al-Qaeda in Pakistan and neighbouring Afghanistan, and has recently upped drone missile attacks in Pakistan's northwest tribal belt. American and Pakistani officials spoke of bitter infighting among Taliban ranks after the death of Baitullah Mehsud in a US drone missile strike in the lawless South Waziristan region on August 5. But the messy succession fight seems resolved, with new Taliban chief Hakimullah Mehsud appearing on local television channels last Monday vowing "severe" new attacks to avenge the killing. "This was a very serious incident and a major security lapse. The government and the military should have taken seriously the threat hurled out by Taliban to avenge death of Baitullah Mehsud," said Khan. A.H. Nayyar, a defence and security analyst, said that the government must also worry about the increasing influence of Al-Qaeda and a host of other Islamist groups that appear to be thriving in the wild tribal belt. "I think this a reminder to the military that this is an all-out war and it has to give up any notions of taking a limited action against Taliban and its allies," he told AFP. Share This Article With Planet Earth
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