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![Two suicide bombers hit the city of Peshawar on Friday killing at least 11 people [AFP]](http://mwcnews.net/images/stories/Pakistan/2/1/2/3/4/Peshawar-Friday.jpg "Two suicide bombers hit the city of Peshawar on Friday killing at least 11 people [AFP]") | | Two suicide bombers hit the city of Peshawar on Friday killing at least 11 people [AFP] |
The Pakistani military has begun a ground offensive against Taliban strongholds in South Waziristan.
The ground operation began early on Saturday, advancing from at least three directions - Zhob to the south, Razmak to the north and Jandola from the east. Air power was also put to use. About 28,000 troops are to be employed in the offensive against about 10,000 Taliban. The move followed crisis-talks and a meeting headed by Yousuf Raza Gilani, the prime minister, on Friday in which it was decided to launch the operation against Taliban. The drive comes after continued bomb attacks in the country over the past two weeks that have killed more than 170 people. Curfew Before the offensive began hundreds of residents in South Waziristan had moved out of the area in anticipation of attacks. However, after its launch thousands more people began fleeing from the Shakoi and Zangra areas, with many moving through North Waziristan where a makeshift camp has been set up at Mir Ali. A curfew was imposed in South Wazaristan on Saturday, ahead of the offensive. Mohammad Khalid Khan, a senior government official, said: "The curfew is for the protection of military convoys [moving toward Taliban strongholds] and it is on the roads. The bazaars are open." The government said on Friday that a ground offensive against the Pakistani Taliban in South Waziristan was imminent and the army had steped up its air and artillery attacks in the preceeding days to soften up their defences. Pakistani forces attacked the Taliban in South Waziristan on Friday with aircraft and artillery. The US hopes that a Pakistani army operation in South Waziristan will help break much of the opposition network that threatens both Pakistan and American troops across the border in Afghanistan. Analysts say that with winter approaching, any push would have had to have begun soon to be successful. Continued bombings Saturday's offensive came a day after at least 11 people died in two explosions near a police office in the city of Peshawar. The bombs were detonated at an investigation bureau in an army garrison of the city, Asghar Hussain, a police official, said. Hasan Askari Rizvi, a political and defence analyst, said: "Different terrorist groups are now trying to reassert themselves, because after the [Pakistani army] Swat operation and the death of Baitullah Mehsud, [the leader of the Pakistani Taliban] the impression was that they were in disarray. "Now they want to demonstrate they are capable of taking action in any part of the country. "They want to deter [security forces] from taking action in South Waziristan where action is expected against the Taliban." Attack investigation On Friday, police said dozens of people had been picked up in overnight raids in slum areas of Lahore and neighbourhoods populated by Afghans, a day after 40 people died in a string of attacks on security buildings in Lahore and bombings in the northwest. Facts: South Waziristan - The province borders Afghanistan, North Waziristan, the North West Frontier Province and Baluchistan
- It has a population of about 500,000 people, mostly tribal Pashtuns, a religiously conservative group that is known for being hostile to outside interference
- The Pakistani Taliban holds territory mainly in the west-central region of South Waziristan, on the northern border with North Waziristan, towards the eastern town of Jandola and on the border with the North West Frontier Province
- The Pakistani Taliban's bastion is not on the South Waziristan-Afghan border
- The army has launched offensives in South Waziristan before, initially in 2004 when it suffered heavy losses before signing a peace pact
Khalid Rahman, the director of the Institute of Policy Studies in Islamabad, said that the cause of the fighting in Pakistan is the US war on the Taliban in Afghanistan, and that needs to be addressed for long-term success. "The whole conflict has extended to Waziristan and then to some of the settled areas of Pakistan. "It is certainly the Pakistani government's responsibility to take care of things within Pakistan. "On the one hand, at this particular moment, the Pakistan army and government has some favourable environment [within Pakistan], particularly because of some of the recent attacks in the Rawalpindi and Lahore areas. "But that is not going to last. Because the cause is Afghanistan and that remains."
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Tags: Pakistan Taliban South Waziristan
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