Army Opens Window on Swat Conflict

At last, the Army has opened window on Swat Conflict in an interview of the DG ISPR with the CNN, published on the front page of The Nation, Lahore today. It is worth reading and soul-searching for the whole nation. I wish the window had been opened long time back by the political government and political leaders outside it. The information contained in the interview largely supports the views expressed by a majority on this forum. DG ISPR also gets our emails on regular basis.

The highlights:

1. Swat is a political problem which can only be partially solved by military intervention.
2. Many of Taliban's arms are coming across the border from Afghanistan.
3. The weapons include those from Nato forces in Afghanistan.
4. The US should stop worrying about the nukes and start worrying about the weapons lost in Afghanistan.
5. The current conflict is intricately linked to the situation in Afghanistan.
6. He described the conflict in Swat as "an existential threat" - a fight for the very existence of Pakistan in its current form. And the portrayal of that conflict to the West would be critical.
7. He conceded Taliban were getting weapons and support from "foreign intelligence agencies."
8. He estimated 10 to 15 percent of Taliban there were foreign fighters: "well-trained Arabs, Afghans with a sprinkling of Central Asians and North Africans." There were also Yemenis, Saudis and Uzbeks fighting.
9. The military wants to get done in Swat as soon as possible, but troops would be there for some time. The army is set for a long fight.

A US government report las month warned that the Pentagon did'nt have "complete records" for about one-third of the 242,000 weapons the US had provided to the Afghan army, or for a further 135,000 weapons other countries sent. The Afghan army "cannot fully safeguard and account for weapons" the Government Accountability Office found.


The CNN broadcast says there is also the risk of the Taliban using the mass exodus of civilians from the Swat Valley as cover to penetrate other towns and cities of Pakistan."It is a very big issue - a serious concern," said ISPR DG. He also said security forces expected more attacks similar to the one carried out in Lahore on 27th May.

The mind-boggling question is: Why is the political leadership in and out of government mum? Why our Leaders of the Opposition in the NA and Senate are afraid to utter a word in line with the perception of the Army and the intelligentsia of Pakistan? Are these leaders representing foreign interests over Pakistan's interests?

It is high time the civil society activists stood up and demanded answers from the political leaders within and outside the government. Nobody else is going to do it. It is NOT the job of the Army to divulge the truth to the people; it can only do per force. If there is no political government worth doing it then why is the army being used to establish the writ of the government? Whose government?

Bravo! Army and its DG ISPR for his objective, balanced and candid analysis of the scenario. Keep it up General.

Mumtaz A. Piracha