'Why Pakistan Won't Fight the Afghan Taliban', TIME, 20 November 2009
EXCERPT: "The New York Times reported Monday that in the letter, Obama urged Zardari to rally his nation behind a joint campaign against militants who fight the Pakistani government and those who fight US and allied troops in Afghanistan. . . With a long fight ahead of it, the Pakistan army won't welcome demands that it expand its range of operations. 'They will view this letter with some displeasure,' says Hasan Askari-Rizvi, an independent military analyst. 'Pakistan army is not going to go to North Waziristan before it completes its operation in South Waziristan.' Two of the militant groups that Washington would like to see Islamabad target are based in North Waziristan: the Haqqani network and the one led by Hafiz Gul Bahadur, both of whom mount cross-border attacks on NATO forces in Afghanistan. 'I don't think that the Pakistan army will target Haqqani,' adds Askari-Rizvi. 'The reason being that they don't want to open a front with every militant group.'
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Related articles:
Islamabad seeks to recast its role in Afghan war, The Globe and Mail, 20 November 2009
CIA chief in Pakistan talks: PM's office, AFP, 20 November 2009
Pakistan worries over new U.S. Afghan strategy, Reuters, 20 November 2009
US woos skeptical Pakistanis on Afghan strategy, The Associated Press, 19 November 2009
Pakistan military hits Taliban in Arakzai [blog], The Long War Journal, 17 November 2009
Related reports:
Pakistan and the Afghan Taliban: Military considerations, Critical Threats, 10 November 2009
Related posts:
Disaggregating the Pakistan Taliban, 16 October 2009
Pakistan Taliban vow tough guerrilla war, 10 November 2009
