On June 15, 2014, the Pakistan air force carried out a number of air strikes against insurgent hideouts in several regions of North Waziristan bordering Afghanistan. Pakistan’s army headquarters issued a press release stating: “According to substantiated information, various foreign and local terrorists who were connected with the attack on the airport in Karachi have been hiding in the agency. Over 50 insurgents, mainly of Uzbek nationality, have been liquidated during the air strike. A weapons warehouse was also destroyed.”
By order of the government, the Pakistani armed forces have launched a comprehensive operation against foreign and local terrorists who are hiding out in the North Waziristan Agency. The operation has been given the name Zarb-e-Azb, which means the “strike of the Prophet’s sword”. According to military sources, the operation currently encompasses 25,000 to 30,000 military personnel. Cobra helicopters, artillery and snipers are launching coordinated attacks.
Analysts pose several questions in light of the current situation: why is a large-scale military operation being launched in June of 2014 and why in North Waziristan, will there be another military operation, what measures will be undertaken by the military and civil administrations of Pakistan to liquidate terrorism in the country, will the army’s actions have any influence on the established balance of military and civil relations in society, how will the overall military hostilities affect safety in Afghanistan and Pakistan when the US/NATO coalition troops are being partially withdrawn from Afghanistan and many other questions.
Military operations targeting foreign militants in agencies bordering Afghanistan have been conducted in previous years as well. General Pervez Musharraf ordered troops to move into the Federally Administered Tribal Areas in the summer of 2002. The Mahsud and Wazir tribes supported Islamabad’s plans then. The situation repeated itself in 2005 and the Shawal insurgent camp was seized.
This year, the first air strikes launched by the Pakistani air force against militant hideouts in North Waziristan were conducted on May 20, 2014, long before the official announcement of the operation. Representatives from the military stated that the air strike was in retaliation for the terrorists killing a large number of civilians and military personnel in the tribal areas, the provinces of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Karachi. During that time, people began fleeing the mountain regions on the Afghan border. In reality, these actions were undertaken due to the change in the region’s geopolitics connected with the withdrawal of US/NATO coalition forces from Afghanistan and the danger of this leading to a surge in extremism in border Afghan agencies (the Federally Administered Tribal Areas) which would progress further into inner Pakistan regions.
The presidential elections in Afghanistan (April-June 2014) and the terrorist act in the Karachi airport in south Pakistan only encouraged the official announcement of the military operation. The independent decision undertaken by the General’s Office to carry out an air strike against several regions in North Waziristan was initially negatively received by the civil administration. Due to a number of reasons, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was ardently supporting a policy of negotiating with the Taliban Movement of Pakistan. He believed (until the middle of June 2014) that a military operation would endanger the government’s efforts to negotiate with the Pakistani Taliban. The process stalled after one round of negotiations in February of 2014. Then there was a success – the parties agreed on a ceasefire which lasted 40 days and was interrupted in the middle of April 2014.
In June 2014, a wave of terrorist acts once again swept over the country (North Waziristan, Tirah Valley, Khyber Agency and an attempt to take over the airport in Karachi). This prompted the military administration to make their June 11 decision of renewing air strikes against militant hideouts, renewing the campaign to track down terrorists across the entire country and disarming the terrorist network. The US recommenced drone strikes.
The official announcement about the military operation in North Waziristan required a consensus between the General’s Office and the civil administration. The meeting chaired by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and attended by various senior military officers was announced only after it concluded. On June 15, 2014, the Prime Minister informed the National Assembly (lower house of parliament) about the launch of a military operation against militants in North Waziristan. The decision was approved by a majority of political parties. The Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf Party of Justice was on the fence, taking a long time to decide whether to support the military operation or not. The party’s leader Imran Khan just recently emphasised that the operation in North Waziristan has not been fully thought through. The government needs to undertake appropriate measures only against groups of militants who are refusing to negotiate. The right religious party Jamaat-i-Islami was the only party against the military presence in North Waziristan, citing concerns that civilians may die together with the terrorists.
The breakthrough in relations between the civil administration and the General’s Office came a few days later when the Head of Cabinet visited (for the first time since inauguration at the beginning of June in 2013) the headquarters of the Peshawar Corps of the Pakistan Army. He confirmed that the military personnel will receive full financial support to successfully conduct the military operation, which is necessary due to the threats of mass terrorist acts throughout the country made by the Pakistani Taliban.
In justifying the start of hostilities in North Waziristan, the Pakistan Army Headquarters noted that “Using North Waziristan as a base, these terrorists had waged a war against the state of Pakistan and had been disrupting our national life in all its dimensions, stunting our economic growth and causing enormous loss of life and property. They had also paralyzed life within the agency and had perpetually terrorized the entire peace loving and patriotic local population.”
Military sources confirm the presence of a large number of foreign militants from various nations in Central Asia, particularly those of Uzbek ethnicity. The operation is held a time when there is a split within the ranks of the Pakistan Taliban. Between April and June of 2014, Pakistani media reported armed clashes in North Waziristan between warring factions within the movement while the number of refugees fleeing to Afghanistan increased.
The local administration and the political circles in North Waziristan have conducted a lot of work with the local tribal elders, convincing them to support the military operation. At the Grand Jirga (Elder Council), they warned that it was unacceptable that foreign militants were present in the tribal area and that they were receiving support from the local population. If this continued, the tribes would face serious consequences. Fearing large-scale hostilities, the elders stated that “tribesmen are against war, they want to solve this conflict with talks and according to tribal traditions”. They used loudspeakers in the mosques to ask foreign militants to leave the tribal areas and they also hung up Pakistani flags to prove their intentions and demonstrate their loyalty to the federal government.
In trying to avoid a large-scale military operation, the tribal elders (the Utmankhel Dawar and the Wazir in particular) in North Waziristan gave foreign militants 15 days to leave the agency’s territory on June 6, 2014. The 64-member Grand Jirga stated that it would ensure the safety of state institutions and security forces convoys. They were even partially supported by the local militants. For example, the North Waziristan Taliban Shura led by Hafiz Gul Bahadur also announced of an extension to the ceasefire until June 20, 2014.
During the preparations for the military operation, the General’s Office planned the evacuation of the local population ahead of time. Special camps for internally displaced persons were constructed both in neighbouring agencies and in the country’s inner regions. Military sources stated that “announcements will be made for the local population to go to designated areas for their orderly and dignified evacuation out of the Agency”. The necessary logistical and administrative arrangements for internally displaced persons were made by the political administration and the Disaster Management Agency. The civil administration put up registration points and IDP camps. Weapon surrender points were also created for those militants who have chosen to cease their violence and to put down their arms. The region is being monitored through aerial surveillance.
The administration has given civilians three days to leave the cities of Mir Ali and Razmak. Despite measures undertaken by the government, there was not enough state transport for everyone. This caused panic as private movers set very high prices. Internally displaced person camps were created in Saidge and near the Baran Dam. Residents in Miramshah and Ghla Khan were allowed to leave their homes on June 20, 2014, due to the curfew. Most residents fled to the neighbouring region of Bannu in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province. The number of refugees fleeing to the Afghan province of Khost has also increased and around 3,000 Pakistani families were recorded there at the end of June. Pakistan’s border personnel has already returned around 300 people from Khost to Pakistan through the Kurram agency and then to Bannu.
However, as the number of internally displaced persons increases (400,000 people at the end of June), the situation is threatening to become a humanitarian catastrophe not just in North Waziristan, but also in the inner regions of Pakistan. On June 22, 2014, administrations in the provinces of Sindh, Punjab and Baluchistan enacted a prohibition against the entry of internally displaced persons into their provinces. A group of displaced people held a demonstration in Bannu to protest the lack of accommodations and demanded the relaxation of the curfew in North Waziristan.
Pakistan Taliban has warned of a new wave of terror in the country. Their press secretary Shahidullah Shahid has stated that “in the interests of the country and Islam, they started a serious process of dialogue but, unfortunately, their demands were not met. The Taliban became a target for military helicopters and these attacks are provoking a new wave of terror. Pakistan’s armies and the Muslim League-Nawaz administration hold on to the policies of previous presidents Musharraf and Zardari.” As a result, the militants became more active in the neighbouring Khyber Agency, a Pashtun tribe area. The militants, foreigners in particular, are hiding out in the nearby forests of the Shawal Valley. They are running from North Waziristan, leaving mine fields behind.
The issue of borders in Pakistani-Afghan relations
The weakest link in Pakistan’s system of security has long been its border with Afghanistan. The border with Afghanistan (the Durand Line) is physically marked in numerous locations, which allows militants to easily get across, entering Afghanistan in the provinces of Khost, Paktia and Paktika and then moving towards various villages on the Afghan side like Shawal and Birmal.
Both local and foreign militants have established numerous hideouts in various Agencies and Pashtun tribal areas (Federally Administered Tribal Areas) while also creating training camps in river valleys in places like North Waziristan. The North Waziristan Agency, one of the seven agencies in the Pashtun tribal areas in the country’s north-east, is located along the Pakistani-Afghan border. Global media sources often call this area a “terrorist enclave”.
Afghanistan’s presidential elections in April of 2014, which were opposed by the Afghan Taliban, only worsened the terrorist acts launched by militants in Afghanistan and Pakistan regions. Beginning on March 20, 2014, Pakistani authorities deployed additional troops to the Pakistani-Afghan border to reinforce existing security arrangements and to ensure that Afghanistan’s presidential elections would be conducted peacefully. To ensure the safety of Afghan voters who were moving across the border from Pakistan, the number of immigration staff present at border crossings was increased while patrols were enhanced in areas close to the border. Strict checking procedures were enacted on routes leading from the country’s inner regions to areas bordering Afghanistan. Communication at border coordination centres on both sides was also enhanced and a hotline was established between the two Military Operations Departments.
Looking ahead, it is noteworthy that the Afghanistan Army Chief thanked the Pakistan Army Headquarters Chief General Raheel Sharif for the enhanced security measures along the Pakistan border during the Afghan presidential elections.
Not long after, the Pakistan General’s Office reanalysed the “border issue” and enacted additional security measures. They were warranted as militants soon attacked the Saidgee check-post on the Pakistani-Afghan border. After proper aerial and satellite surveillance, the border agents retaliated with air strikes.
In speaking of the Afghani-Pakistan border, a certain level of interest and responsibility from three different parties is implied: Afghanistan, Pakistan and US/NATO, since shipments for the coalition forces make their way from Pakistan’s Karachi port through the entire country and through the Torham and Chaman border checkpoints into Afghanistan.
Islamabad’s forces alone were not enough to contain the militants in the Pakistan border region and all parties needed to undertake decisive measures in the matter. In the middle of May 2014, Pakistan initiated a trilateral meeting in the Afghanistan Ministry of Defence to review the security strategy for after the withdrawal of coalition forces. The meeting was attended by Pakistan’s Chief of Army Staff General Raheel Sharif, Afghanistan’s Chief of General Staff General Sher Muhammad Karimi and Commander of ISAF General Joseph Dunford. The four-starred generals agreed to coordinate their actions during the withdrawal of NATO forces from Afghanistan until the end of this year as well as to expand the bilateral military ties between Pakistan and Afghanistan with a special emphasis on coordinating along the Pakistani-Afghan border. This was Pakistan’s Chief of Army Staff General Raheel Sharif’s first visit to neighbouring Afghanistan since he took up his post in November of 2013.
After resolving the first task of preserving the security procedures in the Pakistani-Afghan border region during the Afghan presidential elections, Islamabad set the next task of liquidating the hideouts made by insurgents in the Pakistan Taliban and by foreign militants in north-western Pakistan. This was primarily targeted at the Eastern Turkistan Islamic Movement, a group which mostly consists of Turkic-speaking militants from Uzbekistan and Uighurs from the north-western part of the autonomous Chinese region of Xinjiang. The North Waziristan Agency, one of the seven agencies within Pashtun tribal areas in the north-eastern regions of the country, is located along the Pakistani-Afghan border.
North Waziristan is home to several Machis and Dattakhel militant camps close to a village near the Miramshah Agency administrative centre and there are also several bases near Musaki Village in Hurmaz, Hessokhel, Api and others.
The Pakistan General’s Office has made a decision to conduct a military operation in North Waziristan. Several regional and inner-Pakistani factors affirmed the necessity of this operation. Military sources stated, “It should be noted that in the past few weeks, terrorist acts, suicide bombers and IEDs have caused the deaths of a large number of civilians and security service personnel in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province and Karachi. Various reports by intelligence services and other sources have confirmed the connection between these terrorist acts and the terrorists hiding in the North Waziristan Agency.” The military has also accounted for the breakdown of negotiations between the civil administration and the Pakistan Taliban as well as the deep strife within the group itself.
At the end of May 2014, the air force launched air strikes against militant hideouts around the cities of Miramshah and Mir Ali in North Waziristan. The bombardment by Pakistan’s army and military helicopters destroyed a large warehouse storing weapons, ammunition and explosives.
Another challenge to Islamabad came in the form of a statement made by Pakistan on May 28, 2014, accusing Afghan President Hamid Karzai of conducting “unprovoked attacks” on settlements in the eastern provinces of Kunar and Nuristan. He claimed that “terrorists have long been getting into Afghanistan through the Durand Line but Kabul has never resorted to missile attacks”. Pakistan’s ambassador was called to the Afghanistan Foreign Ministry. Representative of the Afghan Ministry of Defence Mohammad Zahir Azimi stated that Pakistani helicopters intruded into the airspace of the province of Kunar and were flying above it. Amidst these accusations, Hamid Karzai refused to participate in the security summit in Islamabad at the beginning of June 2014. He blamed his neighbour for trying to disrupt the second round of presidential elections scheduled for June 14.
Islamabad undertook all possible efforts to normalise relations with Kabul. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif phoned President Karzai and Pakistan’s Army Chief met with the Afghan ambassador. Pakistan Prime Minister’s Special Envoy Mahmood Khan Achakzai, a member of parliament, flew to Kabul with an official visit. They called on the Afghan authorities to enhance security along the border to root out terrorism. Islamabad officially emphasized its responsibilities to prevent “our territory from being used against Afghanistan and we expect that Afghanistan will not allow their territory to be used against Pakistan”. The Pakistani General’s Office offered Afghan security forces to “seal” the border from their side and enact measures to liquidate Pakistan Taliban insurgents and their hideouts in the provinces of Kunar, Nuristan and other Afghan regions.
In the middle of June 2014, North Waziristan was controlled by additional Pakistan army forces which were moved here to prevent the insurgents from crossing the border.
The military operation in North Waziristan began on June 20, 2014. It included the air force, artillery and tanks.
A blow from the federal army against insurgent positions in Pakistan’s North Waziristan has long been a persistent demand by US/NATO. During the active phase in the fight against the Taliban in Afghanistan between 2009 and 2011, the White House put pressure on Islamabad to begin advancing on the militant hideouts and training camps and to “seal” the border. This was in line with the alliance’s plans and should have further incited the war in Afghanistan. In 2011, US Minister of Defence Robert Gates stated that the “heart” of Al Qaeda remains in the region of the Pakistani-Afghan border from where it spreads its influence around the Arabian Peninsula and North Africa. The Haqqani network which had set up camp in North Waziristan presented the greatest threat to the US/NATO forces in Afghanistan. In January of 2011, during his visit to Pakistan, US Vice President Joe Biden insisted on a military operation, considering it a “priority” for the anti-terrorist campaign in the region. Islamabad did not give the order to being a military operation in North Waziristan then, stating that it refuses to “become a part of a new American ‘Great Game’”.
In June of 2014, the US changed its stance on the military operation in North Waziristan. Former US State Secretary Hillary Clinton stated that Pakistan’s policy of seeking strategic depth in Afghanistan has been proven wrong and the country now needs to focus all its strength on dealing with the militants. A great number of militants are quickly leaving North Waziristan, crossing the border and once again filling the ranks of Afghan militants. Over the last few days there has been a surge in attacks on soldiers in the coalition forces.
Simultaneously with launching their military operation in North Waziristan, the Pakistani authorities presented the militants with an alternative – safe passage across the border is afforded to militants who put down their weapons and a thorough investigation will be conducted on them.
The war started by the US fourteen years ago in Afghanistan and Pakistan is nearing an end. In 2014, each regional player sees their own benefits in reaching strategic depth in Afghanistan.
Natalia Zamarayeva, PhD in History, Senior Research Fellow, Department of Pakistan at the Institute of Oriental Studies in the Russian Academy of Sciences, exclusively for the online magazine “New Eastern Outlook”.
