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| Science Forum Index » Military - Naval Forum » Waziristan operation may achieve objectives by... |
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| PakistanPal... |
 Posted: Sun Nov 01, 2009 8:49 pm |
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Daily Times
* Qureshi says Taliban leadership on the run
* Pakistan seeks role in new US strategy on Afghanistan
* Poorly-planned troop surge could push militants into Pakistan
KUALA LUMPUR: The army hopes to rout the Taliban in South Waziristan
before a bitter cold sets in, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi
said on Sunday.
"The operation so far has been very successful. The resistance that we
were expecting initially did not come with the same swiftness we were
expecting," Qureshi - who is in Kuala Lumpur to attend a meeting of
Islamic countries starting Monday - told reporters.
"South Waziristan is an area which is very important in order to check
terrorist activity in Pakistan. Not just Pakistan, but beyond," said
Qureshi.
He said the armed forces had surrounded the area and choked supply
lines to the Taliban. "They are on the run. They are in retreat and
there is disarray over there," he said.
Qureshi said it would be difficult to give a timeframe for total
military success, but "we would want to achieve our objectives as much
as possible before the winter sets in".
"And it seems, as things are going on, that we might be able to do
so ... I can't give you a date, but that area becomes very cold (by
late December). We want to operate and establish our foothold before
that."
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, during a visit to Pakistan,
said it was hard to believe that no one in Pakistan's government knew
where the Al Qaeda leadership was hiding.
Qureshi dismissed suggestions that Clinton's rebuke was an
embarrassment. He said Clinton was not being "negative or sarcastic",
but "objective" because she was speaking as a partner in the war on
terror.
Qureshi urged the US to coordinate with Pakistan as it fights Al Qaeda
in Afghanistan's border area.
"We feel a troop surge which is well-coordinated with us would produce
results ... Pakistan's point of view is that it is not only the
numbers that will count in Afghanistan. It's how you use those
numbers." He said he told Hillary that the US could benefit from
Pakistan's input.
Qureshi said he put the request for closer involvement in the US
deliberations to Hillary Clinton during her visit to Pakistan.
Qureshi said that a well-coordinated surge in troop numbers would have
a good chance of success, but a poorly planned escalation could merely
push militants across the border into Pakistan. agencies
Article Source : http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2009\11\02\story_2-11-2009_pg1_5 |
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