Pakistan Conflict Monitor

Lack of Assistance Angers Returning Bajaur IDPs

Lack of Assistance Angers Returning Bajaur IDPs, IRIN News, 27 June 2010

EXCERPT: "Thousands of people displaced by conflict in Bajaur Agency, one of seven tribal territories on the Pakistani-Afghan border, have returned to find damaged homes, limited services, sporadic fighting and little assistance from the government or UN agencies. 'The situation there [in Bajaur] is grim. There are shortages of food, prices fluctuate and medicines are often not available. I have come here [Peshawar] to buy some painkillers prescribed for my mother who has arthritis and a few other items so we can set up home again,' Wali Khan Uthmankhel, 40, said. Fighting between the army and militants had forced his seven-member family to leave their home in Khar, the principle town in Bajaur Agency, a year ago and find shelter in Peshawar, capital of Khyber-Pakhtoonkhwa province. Like thousands of other internally displaced persons (IDPs), they returned to Khar in the past few weeks following announcements from provincial authorities and the military that most areas of Bajaur had been cleared of militants. The news led to the closure of two IDP camps in Lower Dir district in Khyber-Pakhtoonkhwa and more than 4,000 IDPs returning from there, according to a 25 June update by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). [...] The OCHA update said a funding crunch was limiting aid agencies’ ability to deliver assistance in some areas."

Read the full story.

Related articles:
Pakistan starts resettling South Waziristan tribes, AFP, 27 June 2010
Mahsud elders want infrastructure in S Waziristan, The News International, 20 June 2010

Related posts:
Taliban "reappear" in Bajaur, issue threats, 16 June 2010
Aid program for IDPs under threat: UN, 18 May 2010
Pakistan displacement figures for 2009 at record high: Report, 17 May 2010
53 villages cleared in Bajaur, 20 April 2010
Peace returns to Bajaur, 17 March 2010

Taliban "Reappear" in Bajaur, Issue Threats

Taliban "Reappear" in Bajaur Agency, Daily Times, 16 June 2010

EXCERPT: "After a two-year long successful military operation and the return of internally displaced persons (IDPs), Taliban have reappeared in Bajaur Agency, warning Levies Force officials through letters to stop the offensive or be ready to face the consequences. Sources told Daily Times that the threats written on Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) letterheads were distributed in various areas of the agency’s Mamoond and Khar tehsils on Monday, saying the TTP would continue its fight in Bajaur against the US and its allies. The TTP has asked the Levies Force to stop actions against the organisation. [...] Residents said they feared for their safety again after the distribution of the threatening letters. On April 19, FATA Law and Order Secretariat Secretary Tariq Hayat told a press briefing, 'Security forces had claimed security clearance in most of Bajaur after military operations.'"

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Related articles:
TTP pamphlets create panic in Bajaur Agency, The News International, 16 June 2010
Houses of 10 Taliban torched in Bajaur Agency, Daily Times, 16 June 2010
Thirty-eight militants killed in Bajaur action, DAWN, 16 June 2010

Related posts:
53 villages cleared in Bajaur, 20 April 2010
NATO blamed for Taliban's escape, 15 April 2010
Peace returns to Bajaur, 17 March 2010
Bajaur Agency: The new landscape of insurgency in FATA, 15 February 2010
Rift among Bajaur Taliban widens as casualties mount, 29 January 2010

53 Villages Cleared in Bajaur

Administration Declares 53 Bajaur Villages Cleared, The News International, 20 April 2010

EXCERPT: "The authorities formally announced here Monday that 53 villages of Bajaur Agency were being de-notified as conflict zones and giving green signal to the displaced persons for voluntary repatriation to their native areas. Speaking at a news conference Monday, Secretary for Law and Order of the Fata Secretariat Tariq Hayat said security forces had cleared most of Bajaur Agency from militants after military operations and there was no need to retain the status of certain areas as 'conflict zones.' 'We de-notify the status of conflict zones in 34 villages in Wara Mamond tehsil and 19 villages in Nawagai tehsil’s Charmang area,' he said. Representatives of the UNHCR, Special Support Group, political administration of Mohmand and Bajaur agencies and Fata Disaster Management were also present on the occasion. Tariq Hayat said the repatriation of internally displaced persons from Mohmand Agency had already started while the displaced families from Bajaur Agency would return to their hometowns from April 25. The returning families would be provided relief items including food and temporary shelters from the humanitarian hubs established in Bajaur and Mohmand agencies."

Read the full story.

Related articles:
Witness: Breaking the myths of Pakistan's tribal areas, Reuters, 29 April 2010

Related reports:
The battle for Pakistan: Militancy and conflict in Mohmand, New America Foundation via the Human Security Gateway, 19 April 2010
The battle for Pakistan: Militancy and conflict in Bajaur, New America Foundation via the Human Security Gateway, 19 April 2010

Related posts:
Peace returns to Bajaur, 17 March 2010
Bajaur Agency: The new landscape of insurgency in FATA, 15 February 2010
Northwest turns volatile following suicide attack, Bajaur offensive, 1 February 2010
Rift among Bajaur Taliban widens as casualties mount, 29 January 2010

NATO Blamed for Taliban's Escape

Pakistan Military Officials Claim NATO Forces Failed to Capture Taliban, Telegraph, 15 April 2010

EXCERPT: "An estimated 700 Taliban fighters are reported to have fled across Pakistan's troubled North West frontier with Afghanistan in recent weeks following the recent military offensive by Pakistan's Armed Forces against Islamist militants. But senior Pakistani officers who commanded the offensive, which has seen the government regain control of the lawless tribal territories, blame Nato for allowing the remnants of the Taliban force to escape into Kunar province in eastern Afghanistan. [...] 'We informed Nato that Taliban fighters were entering territory which is supposed to be under their control, but they have not acted. It is very frustrating.' Col Saeed said the Pakistani authorities had intelligence that a large contingent of Taliban fighters were being protected by local Afghan sympathisers at a camp in Kunar, and were even being provided with guns and ammunition. Col Saeed was speaking as Nato officials in Kabul announced they had withdrawn American troops from the strategically important Korengal Valley in eastern Afghanistan because they were deemed to have become 'an irritant" to local people'. [...] At least 150 Pakistani soldiers have been killed and another 650 injured in Operation Sherdil, or 'lionheart', in the military offensive launched to drive the Taliban out of northern Pakistan after Islamist militants seized control of territory close to the Pakistani capital Islamabad. An estimated 2,400 Taliban fighters have been killed in the offensive, about 750 surrendered while another 700 have fled across the border."

Read the full story.

Related articles:
Difficult task in former Pakistan Taliban bastion, BBC News, 15 April 2010
Afghanistan war: US leaves remote outpost of Korengal, The Christian Science Monitor, 15 April 2010
29 Bajaur elders arrested for alleged non-cooperation, The News International, 15 April 2010
In Bajaur, Pakistan says US needs to do more, AlertNet, 14 April 2010

Related posts:
US special ops aiding Pakistan's "hold and build" operations, 13 April 2010
ISI freed senior Taliban figures: US officials, 12 April 2010
Pakistan alleges Afghans are releasing Taliban fighters, 1 April 2010
Army captures key militant hideout, 2 March 2010
Taliban "routed" in raids on border camps, 1 March 2010
Taliban exploit porous Afghanistan-Pakistan border, 5 February 2010
Army attacks militant hideout on Afghan border in N. Waziristan, 22 January 2010

Following Counter-insurgency Successes in NW, Time to Hold Ground

Holding Pakistan: The Second Phase of Pakistan's Counterinsurgency Operations, Foreign Affairs, 24 March 2010

EXCERPT: "Conventional wars are won by capturing territory, but counterinsurgencies are won by holding it. Rather than rushing to open new fronts against the Taliban, Pakistan must now focus on keeping the territory it has already cleared.Last summer, Pakistan's military launched counterinsurgency campaigns against the Taliban throughout northern Pakistan, in Bajaur, the Swat Valley, and South Waziristan. As I wrote last July, the strategy succeeded because the military was able to minimize collateral damage, maximize precision, boost troop morale, and create better intelligence networks. As a result, the Pakistani Taliban are now weakened in the north and are moving south into Pakistan's central and southern provinces of Punjab, Sindh, and Balochistan. But the military should not rush to pursue them -- instead, it must hold the territory it has already captured and, in so doing, maintain stability in the rest of the country."

Read the full story.

Related articles:
Return to broken homes, empty schools in northwest, IRIN News, 25 March 2010
Pakistan counterinsurgency, hailed by US, makes progress in Swat valley, The Christian Science Monitor, 25 March 2010
Pakistan faces tough task rejuvenating battered Swat, Reuters, 25 March 2010

Related posts:
Swat trains community police to keep Taliban away, 24 March 2010
Peace returns to Bajaur, 17 March 2010
Bajaur agency: the new landscape of insurgency in FATA, 15 March 2010
Swat residents struggle as reconstruction slow to take off, 15 February 2010
Pakistan: Clear, hold, build, 20 November 2009

Peace Returns to Bajaur

Hustle and Bustle in Khar as Peace Returns to Bajaur, The News International, 17 March 2010

EXCERPT: "All main and link roads were opened to facilitate the returnees to their hometowns while cellular phone service and World Food Programme centres also started functioning after a long time. Reports said that tribesmen, dislocated due to the clashes between the security forces and militants, have started returning to their homes and villages. The joy could be seen on the faces of tribesmen who were seen exchanging greetings over restoration of peace in Bajaur. Those coming to their native villages hoisted national flags on the vehicles and were chanting slogans 'long live Pakistan' and 'salute to Pakistan Army'. The government departments including educational institutions were closed after launching of military operation against the militants in August 2008, and the subsequent volatile situation in Bajaur tribal region. Thousands of families left their hearths and homes and shifted to safer places in the settled districts of NWFP."

Read the full story.

Related articles:
38 Taliban surrender in Bajaur, Daily Times, 17 March 2010
Commander held in Peshawar, The News International, 17 March 2010

Related posts:
Army captures key militant hideout, 2 March 2010
Bajaur Agency: The new landscape of insurgency in FATA, 15 February 2010
For IDPs, little hope of early return, 8 February 2010
Northwest turns volatile following suicide attack, Bajaur offensive, 1 February
Rift among Bajaur Taliban widens as casualties mount, 29 January 2010

Army Captures Key Militant Hideout

Pakistan Says Army Seized Taliban, Al-Qaeda Base, AFP, 2 March 2010

EXCERPT: "Pakistan's army on Tuesday revealed a vast Taliban and Al-Qaeda hideout dug into mountains near the Afghan border and captured in an offensive that killed 75 local and foreign militants. Commanders gave journalists a guided tour of the bastion, carved into sheer rock within clear view of the snow-capped mountains of eastern Afghanistan and said by one general to comprise 156 caves developed over five to seven years. Pakistan seized the complex in its latest offensive against militants in its semi-autonomous tribal belt, following US pressure on the country to eliminate Taliban and Al-Qaeda-linked groups who attack Western troops in Afghanistan. Major General Tariq Khan told journalists on the visit that the warren of caves in the Damadola area had served as a militant headquarters until it was overrun by troops in an offensive launched in January. 'There were Egyptians, Uzbeks, Chechens and Afghans killed in the operation,' he said."

Read the full story.

Related articles:
Pakistan secures Taliban hub; militiamen dance, AlertNet, 2 March 2010
Militant operation imminent in Orakzai, Tirah, DAWN, 2 March 2010
Seven militants killed in fresh Khyber clashes, DAWN, 2 March 2010

Related reports:
Al-Qaeda's safe havens, The Washington Institute for Near East Policy, 1 March 2010

Related posts:
Bajaur Agency: The new landscape of insurgency in FATA, 15 February 2010
Military captures Taliban stronghold on Afghan border, 8 February 2010
Northwest turns volatile following suicide attack, Bajaur offensive, 1 February
Rift among Bajaur Taliban widens as casualties mount, 29 January 2010
Countering militancy in FATA, 26 October 2009

Bajaur Agency: The New Landscape of Insurgency in FATA

Bajaur Agency: The New Landscape of Insurgency in FATA, The Jamestown Foundation // Terrorism Monitor, 12 February 2010

EXCERPT: "Amid conflicting reports that Pakistani Taliban Chief Hakimullah Mahsud has succumbed to his injuries after being targeted in a U.S. drone attack last month, there is also news that the deputy chief of the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Maulvi Faqir Mohammad, has resigned from his position as TTP leader in Bajaur Agency after developing differences with other Taliban leaders in the region. Maulvi Faqir has been replaced as TTP leader in Bajaur by Maulvi Mohammad Jamal ud-Din. Maulvi Faqir was a close confidante of Baitullah Mahsud, the former TTP chief who was killed in a U.S. drone attack in August, 2009. When there was a vacuum in leadership after Baitullah’s death, Maulvi Faqir declared himself the new chief of the TTP. He later withdrew from the position when the Taliban shura (council) appointed Hakimullah as its leader. Until recently, Maulvi Faqir enjoyed unprecedented control over the Bajaur Taliban and other militant organizations in the area... Since August 2008, Bajaur has seen major anti-terrorist military operations. The Pakistani government claimed to have cleared the area of all sorts of militants in February, 2009, but the claim had little reality on the ground... However, the current military operations in Bajaur are believed to be the first serious offensive there against the Taliban and other local and foreign militants, including Uzbeks and some Arabs"

Read the full article.

Related articles:
Taliban claim responsibility for Bannu attacks, DAWN, 15 February 2010
Troops kill seven Taliban in Bajaur, Daily Times, 15 February 2010
Taliban execute Bajaur tribal leader [blog], The Long War Journal, 27 December 2009
Battle of Bajaur: A critical test for Pakistan's daunted military, The New York Times, 22 September 2008

Related posts:
Military captures Taliban stronghold on Afghan border, 8 February 2010
Troops capture major Taliban base in Bajaur tribal agency, 2 February 2010
Northwest turns volatile following suicide attack, Bajaur offensive, 1 February
Rift among Bajaur Taliban widens as casualties mount, 29 January 2010
Militants regroup in northwest, army responds, 27 November 2009

Military Captures Taliban Stronghold on Afghan Border

Pakistani Military Captures Taliban Stronghold in Volatile Tribal Area, The Canadian Press, 7 February 2010

EXCERPT: "Pakistani security forces have seized a key Taliban stronghold in a northwestern area that the government had declared free of militants a year ago following a military offensive but has experienced periodic violence since then. The army captured Damadola on Saturday as part of an operation launched in late January to quell the persistent violence in the Bajaur tribal area. The offensive, which has killed more than 60 militants, is one of several that Pakistan has launched in recent months against Taliban and al-Qaeda fighters in the volatile Afghan border region. The U.S. has praised Pakistan for its recent operations but has also pushed the government to take on other militants who are launching cross-border attacks against U.S. and NATO troops in Afghanistan. Pakistan has resisted, saying it has its hands full battling militants waging war against the state, including those in Bajaur. 'We are in full control of Damadola,' said Abdul Malik, a local government official. 'We are also working to set up a militia to ensure the militants cannot return.' Damadola, a cluster of more than dozen villages about 10 miles (16 kilometres) north of the main town of Khar, has served as a stronghold for local and foreign militants for years and was one of the first areas targeted by U.S drone missile strikes in 2006."

Read the full story.

Related articles:
Pakistan's border war grows murkier, AOL News, 8 February 2010
Troops wrest Damadola from Taliban, Dawn, 7 February 2010
The Taliban babel, The News International, 1 February 2010
Afghan militants cross into Pakistan in bold attack, Los Angeles Times, 12 January 2009
Tribesmen claim clearing Bajaur agency of militants, Thaindian, 8 October 2008

Related media:
The Afghan-Pakistan militant nexus, BBC News, 1 December 2009
Strategic town of Bajaur is in Pakistan hands [video], Al Jazeera, 26 October 2008

Related posts:
Troops capture major Taliban base in Bajaur tribal agency, 2 February 2010
Northwest turns volatile following suicide attack, Bajaur offensive, 1 February
Rift among Bajaur Taliban widens as casualties mount, 29 January 2010
Militants regroup in northwest, army responds, 27 November 2009
Countering militancy in FATA, 26 October 2009

For IDPs, Little Hope of Early Return

No Way Back to Bajaur, IRIN News, 8 February 2010

EXCERPT: "Some media reports said a fresh wave of displacements took place over the last few days, after 'about 4,000' people reportedly fled villages in the Mamond and Banda areas of Bajaur following renewed fighting, but Babar Baloch, public information officer with the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), said there were no confirmed reports or figures 'so far'. Around 250,000 people were still displaced from Bajaur at the end of 2009, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). The new wave of unrest has convinced those who had moved away earlier that there is little hope of an early return. Faizan said he had to enrol his children in school, and hoped his daughter, Rida Meena, would also be able to resume learning after a break of two years. Schools in Bajaur have opened only sporadically since 2008. Seventy-four institutions are reported to have been destroyed by militants, affecting the education of some 50,000 children, according to some media reports, and schools that had opened briefly have now shut again because of the latest hostilities... Military operations continue in northern areas, and military spokesman Maj-Gen Athar Abbas has said they will go on till 'the Taliban are defeated'. There are other problems as well. 'Due to the security situation many professionals have fled. They include teachers. Female teachers have in some cases given up working because of the militant threat... Faizan said.'"

Read the full story.

Related articles:
Thousands flee as 22 killed in Bajaur, DAWN, 2 February 2010
74 schools, colleges destroyed in Bajaur, The News International, 23 January 2010
Displaced Bajaur people refuse to return, DAWN, 1 September 2008

Related reports:
Pakistan: Humanitarian update no. 7, United Nations Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UN OCHA) via ReliefWeb, 5 February 2010
Pakistan: Humanitarian end of year review, UN OCHA via ReliefWeb, 13 January 2010

Related posts:
Aid workers bracing for possible new IDP influx, 26 January 2010
Thousands trapped as army hunts Taliban, 13 January 2010
Displacement crisis far from over: UN, 7 January 2010
Returning IDPs face challenges despite aid, 9 December 2009
Ongoing displacement the single largest recorded in Pakistan: Report, 2 December 2009