The War on Terror
referred as Global War on Terrorism is a military campaign which was launched
by the government of USA worldwide after
the famous September 11 attacks in the U.S. on year 2001. After the 11
September 2001 attacks, earlier President of Pakistan Pervez Musharraf made
alliance with the U.S. against the Taliban government in Afghanistan after an
ultimatum which was given by then U.S. President George W. Bush. President Musharraf
approved to give the U.S. the use of three airbases for the ‘Operation Enduring
Freedom’ (OEF) . Pakistan along with United States are
partners in establishing peace in the region.
During year 2004, the
Pakistan Army launched a famous campaign in the FATA [Federally Administered
Tribal Areas] prominent Waziristan region, sending 80,000 troops. The objective
of the conflict was to remove the al-Qaeda and Taliban militants from the area.
The government of
Pakistan had announced that fighting terrorism would be the top priority agenda,
and turned out to be a front line state in the operational tools of OEF Operation
Enduring Freedom which was US government response to September 11, 2001 terrorist
attacks. Pakistan instantly separated itself from the Taliban rule in
Afghanistan and it was then decided that it would be a part of the global
coalition led by the United States. Ever since, Pakistan has retained an
obvious stance on the famous War On
Terror. Pakistani government has prohibited and condemned all types of
terrorism and its presence in any corner of world. Islamabad authorities have
stressed on the foremost need for a broad, and a clear definition of terrorism.
Outright rejection about the myth of
Islamic terrorism, Pakistan has been a firm believer in clear difference
between terrorist activities and the legitimate struggle of the publics for
their essential right to self-determination. The government of Pakistan has
formalized a military approach to root out the native and the international
militants who have hideouts in the tribal areas in the surrounding area of
Pakistan and Afghan borders. The security forces of the country have directed
plenty of minor military operations to destroy the militant groups who are
inhabited in the tribal areas of the country as the prominent part of its strategy
to counter terrorism. The army of Pakistan has conducted more than 251 major
and 735 minor operations contributing in the war on terror from September 11 to
2012.
Counter terrorism Operations from
2004-2009
Militants were fumed on
learning Pakistan’s stance on War of Terror. Pakistan army was under their
radar in January 2004 when rockets were fired on army camps from three sides in
‘Wana’ The militants launched rockets on the army camps situated in the village
of Bajaur which is in South Waziristan. An army check-post which was in ‘Shulama’
had to face a great damage and the situation was made worst. The operation was
launched by the army of Pakistan in retaliation of the attack on the camps. Additionally,
the worsening of security situation forced Pakistan army to start the biggest “search-and-destroy”
movement which is also known as the “Operation
Kalosha’’ the major objective of this operation was to clear the area from
these terrorists. The operation had continued for about thirteen days. However,
it failed to dislocate the foreign terrorists which was something assured by
the Pakistan army. Eight soldiers of Pakistan army were martyred. During the mission
more than fifty militants were executed but on the army side four soldiers
sacrificed their lives and about twelve were seriously injured.
However, there was no
end to the newly born terrorism which was spreading throughout the country. The
Lal Masjid siege was the lethal battle between the Pakistan army and the
homegrown militants after Pakistan had formed partnership with the United
States after the famous 9/11 attacks. The leaders of Al Qaeda were quick to
respond seeking revenge Ghazi was termed as a “hero of Islam” in an audio
message Osama bin Laden and launched an all-out war against the military. The
Lal Masjid itself was secured of the worst of the fighting but the entrance
hall was set to fire and pieces of brickwork were blown from the minars, which were
used as a vantage point by the gunmen. The resistance was certainly beyond the expectations
of the army.
President Musharraf,
then President, instructed to initiate a military operation against the scholars
and maulvis of the mosque in response to increasing criminal actions, weakening
and challenging the summons of the local government. The Laal Masjid administration
had flushed out the extremists hold up in the compound.
The terrorist groups
then reacted by unlashing the trend of suicide attacks against army of Pakistan
in different areas which had by then successfully created an atmosphere of
fear, fright and chaos in country as well as its capital, Islamabad.
The prominent Taliban commander Maulvi Abdul
Khaliq Haqani said in his speech on July 21, 2007,
“Mujahideen of the north and south Waziristan
agencies will avenge the martyred brothers, sisters and sons. Praise be to
Allah, Mujahideen have launched activities and have been conducting guerilla
and suicide attacks against the army and paramilitary forces. They will take
revenge of the Lal Masjid and Jamia Hafsa operation’’
Prearranged the Ghazi
Forces, Abdul Rashid’s supporters have been guilty for being master minds or
the most atrocious terrorist attacks. The ferocious end of the dead heat had resulted
in more than hundred militants dead, and in the attack, 11 army officers were
martyred. It marked a noteworthy period in Pakistan’s fight against Islamic aggressiveness.
This operation was
referred as Operation Sunrise and it was the first major action of the
government against the terrorism after 1947.
Six months later, on 14th
December, 2007, forty terrorist leaders, commanding about 40,000 militant troops,
assembled in South Waziristan in order to form a combined front under the name Tehreek-i-Taliban
Pakistan (TTP ) It promised to take
vengeance of the death of a prominent leader Abdul Rashid. In 2008, the Taliban
were almost in control of seven Federally administered Tribal Areas agencies
and had successfully spread their influence in a big part of Khyber Pakhtunkhuwa.
One noteworthy fact
about the military action on the red mosque is- the day the army of Pakistan
had planned an action against the terrorists, Talibaan organizations were the
first to give reactions. Thousands of Talibaan supporters came out & blocked
the famous Karakoram highway, situated among Pakistan and China. This
opposition evidently tells that Talibaan had involvement in the Lal Masjid
incident.
Pakistan faced a major
security threat because Talibans took control of the agencies in FATA. This
called for need for measures which gave birth to Operation Sher Dil which was launched the in Bajaur Agenc from Aug
2008 to Feb 2009. It contributed in bloodshed of thousands of Taliban militants
and the elimination of a large amount of the local people who were in the
battle zones. This showdown of the Pakistan Army and Talibaan militants and minor
groups in the FATA in the year 2008 had resulted in the death of 3,067 individuals
Furthermore, in 2009
May, Pakistan army initiated the Operation
Rah e Rast in order to evacuate the parts of Swat and kill leading
militants such as Maulana Fazal ullah, Muslim Khan, Sufi Mohammad and Bait ullah
Mahsood. For operational purposes, Swat was distributed into North Swat, and
South Swat. Three divisions were used for the operation under which 52,000
troops took part. In addition to this, two wings of Frontier Corps forces were
deployed in this operation. Armed forces had used military aircrafts, jets, military
helicopters gunships, artillery constituting of 130-mm range field gun
batteries, and the corps of infantry progressed to hit the militants. The assault
military helicopters were used for the clearance of Mingora. Up to two hundred
oppressors were killed daily which resulted in the armed forces successfully
gaining control of urban region of Swat.
After successfully
gaining control over Swat, Pakistan security forces had then launched the ‘Operation Koh-e-Sufaid’ on the 4th
of July 2011 in Kurram agency against the terrorists of Tehrik e Taliban Pakistan.
The terrorist group had took control over the Thal-Parachinar route, which connects
the Kurram agency to Peshawar. Pakistan army had continued the ‘operation White Mountain’ with about 4000 troops including a heavy artillery
and strong air power. Pakistan military forces then claimed to recapture the
Khyber agency and were responsible for the clearance done in area of Tirah
valley.
After the decline of
the Talibaani regime, members of TTP had fled to Northern border region of
Afghan and Pak, an area which was under little control of Pakistan Army. US also supported Pakistan. With the help of
the air support and logistics coming from them, Pakistan Army chad killed many
al-Qaeda operative and held them as captives.
Impact of Terrorism Operations on
Pakistan
Pakistan had suffered a
total loss of 45 billion dollars because
of the military operations after 9/11 to 2009 and a rough estimated 70 billion dollars constituting thousands
of the civilians and military personnels
lives till December 2012 .It had a negative effect on the overall economy of
Pakistan as it caused huge withdrawal of external speculation, capital, end of
commercial enterprises in clash areas, loss in the tourism sector and agricultural
field. This was not all as the industries decreased in fares. Pakistan has suffered
a tragic death toll because of violence and instability in the nation. The time
frame from the year 2001 to the year 2011 had observed developing several
setbacks. The security operations led to notable effect on Pakistans security
such as ongoing terrorist happenings had increased within country. Since
Pakistan took part in the global union against terrorism as a non NATO ally in 2001,
it had to face several complications, uncertain state of decision making,
instability in socio-economic sector, the drone warfare and its domestic
effects, back down of Pakistan’s economy specially poverty, unemployment,
inflation, energy and power crisis along with inadequate security measures as
the Durand Line was a weak border, access
of terrorists and jihadi culture into the neighbors of Pakistan had tarnished
the regional and global image of the country. The regional neighbors of the
country and the international community had serious concerns over the expansion
of Tehrik e Taliban Pakistan and al-Qaeda which had sympathy inside Pakistan.
Counter terrorism Operations after
2009
On the 8th
of June 2014, ten terrorists armed with suicide vests, programmed weapons,
rocket launcher, and grenades had attacked the famous airport in Karachi known
as Jinnah International Airport. 36 people were killed, consisting of 10
attackers, along with 18 wounded. The terrorist organization (TTP ) had in the beginning, claimed responsibility
for the attack. According to the state media, the attackers were immigrants of
Uzbekistan belonging to Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU), which is Al
Qaeda-linked terrorist organization that works with TTP
closely. The terrorist group had later confirmed the attack to be joint
operations executed with the help of IMU, who solely admitted supplying recruits
for the attack.
After the horrendous attack
on the Karachi Airport, Pakistan Army led aerial strikes on the terrorist hideouts
in the federally administered tribal areas (FATA) and also included the border
of Afghanistan . On the 10th of June, the security forces of
Pakistan had carried out aerial strikes in Tirah Valley which is situated in
Khyber Agency in the next to the Afghanistan border, in which nine terrorist hideouts
were destroyed and a minimum of 25 terrorists were killed. The aerial strikes
were led in the wake of the attack, and were an extension lead of a movement of
the Pakistan Army operations against terrorists being conducted from the past months.
The region was thought to be a shelter for several anti-state terrorists and
foreign militants from Central Asia. According to the defence analysts, the airport
attack may drive Islamabad to put current peace talks with terrorists on rest
and lead an all-out military offensive in tribal areas of North Waziristan
including the Afghanistan border. A Pakistani security official, had given a
statement in press where he said "the army is ready for an operation. It now
all depends on the government to make a decision." At least 25 terrorists
were killed on the 10th of June, including foreign militants. On the
11th of June, the Pakistan Army decided to intensify air strikes on
thw terrorists hideouts resulting in an official conference of leading military
commanders at the General Headquarters (GHQ) in Rawalpindi. On 12th Of
June, two drone attacks had killed Afghan, Uzbek and some local terrorists.
Furthermore, on 15th
of June, the Pakistan Army had increased air strikes in the North Waziristan
and blown-up eight foreign terrorist hideouts with a minimum of 105 insurgents
killed, majorly Uzbeks, and those associated to the airport attack in Karachi
and some foreign militants. According to military sources, a prominent
mastermind of attack and Uzbek commander Abu AbdurRehman Almani , was also
killed in that operation.
The following military
responses resulted in Operation Zarb-e-Azab, a comprehensive operation by the Pakistan
Armed Forces against the terrorists in North Waziristan. Above 30,000 Pakistani
soldiers had participated in the operation which was initiated in the wake of horrendous
attack on the International Jinnah Airport in Karachi. On the 15th
of June, the Pakistan Army formally announced the commencement of Operation Zarb-e-Azab in the North
Waziristan, a military policy directing to flush out international and local terrorists
present in the area of North Waziristan.
Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR)
spokesperson Major-General Asim Bajwa released in a press statement publically
in which he said:
"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. In addition, the valiant
armed forces have been tasked to eradicate these terrorists regardless of hue
and color, along with their sanctuaries. With the help of support of the entire
country, along with in coordination with other state institutions and Law
Enforcement Agencies these enemies of
the state will be denied space anywhere across Pakistan’(Reference: dawn news)
Operation Zarb-e-Azab,
directing a combined military attack conducted by the Pakistan Army against several
terrorist groups, including Al Qaeda, TTP, For the first time, the Pakistan
Army implemented a military approach called "Seek, Destroy, Clear, Hold."
The vision was to seek the target. Once they were found, they would be
destroyed. When they were destroyed, the infrastructure, bodies and the weapons
would also be cleared and the area would be held both during this time till
completion in order to ensure security after operation and the infrastructure
and rehabilitation of area. On the 3rd of April, the government of Pakistan had
declared a victory and the end of the operation after the clearance of 640
square km in Shawaal valley, killing more than 250 militants.
Terrorist Attacks in retaliation of
Operations by Pakistan Armed Forces
The terrorist
organization (Jamaat ul Ahrar), which was recently under sanctions by the UNSC
(UN Security council), had targeted government officials, children, minorities,
and civilians. It is respected to understand the nature of terrorism and
Pakistan’s rigorous response to address it in the move of recent statements
which were made by the US President Donald Trump accusing Pakistan of not doing
enough in regards of countering terrorism.
On 9th of
August 2016, a
suicide bombing targeting lawyers had killed 70 and injured 26 people in Civil
Hospital of Quetta. The attack which left many ids stranded and families in depression
was claimed by Abdul Wali, known as Omar Khorasani who is the founder of the
terrorist organization. It has been targeting on youngsters, schools, colleges,
minorities, doctor’s facilities and courts within Pakistan.
The terrorist
organization has claimed responsibility regarding a few other destructive attacks
too. In 2015, it attacked admirers in a Youhanabad church in Lahore. In 2016,
it focused on pure kids on Easter by shelling the Children’s Park Lahore and
furthermore besieged locale courts in Shabqadar and Charsadda. The twin
bombings in Muhammad Agency on 7th November 2014, slaughtering six and the
suicide bombarding on 2nd November killing 60 individuals and arming more than
100 was additionally asserted by the Jamaat ul Ahrar terrorist group. A
significant number of its individuals, now apprehended, have possessed up to
numerous subversive exercises inside Pakistan.
The driving force of
these assaults in Khorasani – a metalworker from Fata who joined the TTP in
2007 and later shaped a fragment gathering. In August 2014 his association
alongside Ahrarul Hind joined to frame the terrorist organization. It worked
from Muhammad Agency of Fata where Khorasani turned into the primary ‘Ameer’ of
the terrorist association.
The military task
Zarb-Azb was forced to wipe out the terrorists and their dens. Therefore, the
JuA was tossed out of Fata just to be moved in Lal Pur, Nangarhar territory of
Afghanistan. From that point forward, it has been arranging psychological
oppressor assaults and working from Afghanistan.
To counter the
terrorist organization of Jamaat ul Ahrar and other terrorist attacks inside
Pakistan, three generous advances have been taken. One, Pakistan armed force
has propelled a few military activities. Two, the Pakistani authorities have
shared the data on fear-based oppressor associations and their places of refuge
inside Afghanistan with the Afghan specialists. Three, considering Pakistan’s
purposeful endeavors, the UN Security Council has forced sanctions to fight
terrorism.
Some of their biggest
attacks included the failed attempts by 10 attackers to intrude into the two
military airbases in Quetta on the night of August 14-15, 2014, the
unsuccessful plan to hijack a naval ship at the Karachi seaport, the suicide
bombing at Wagah border town, the attacks on churches and imambargahs in
Lahore, and the high-profile bombings in Peshawar, Karachi, Rawalpindi and
Shikarpur.
However, the militants
were unable to maintain the momentum and intensity of their attacks. Rather,
some of their attacks deprived them of whatever little public support they
still enjoyed and led to a tougher response by the government against them. One
such attack took place on December 16, 2014 on the Army Public School, Peshawar
and resulted in the deaths of 145 persons, including 132 schoolchildren.
Terrorist organizations
didn’t even spare the blooming flowers, and launched an atrocious attack on the
Army Public School (APS) Peshawar on the December 14th 2016. It was the day that saw the most cold-hearted
crime committed by devil’s advocate on earth and a day that will be remembered
in times to come for the most cowardly massacre. Six gunmen who were associated
with the Tehrik-i-Talibaan (TTP) had propelled a terrorist assault on the Army
Public School in morning at 10:30 am. The terrorists were foreign militants,
constituting of a Chechen, two Afghans, and three Arabs. They arrived in the
school, started firing on the school staff and innocent children, killing more
than 149 people which included 132 schoolchildren, ranging between eight to
eighteen years, earning it the ranking of world's 4th deadliest
school massacre.
Soon, a rescue
operation was propelled by the Special Services Group (SSG) special forces of
the Pakistan Army's, who had killed all six terrorists and successfully rescued
960 people. The attack had a lot of causalities. More than 150 people were
martyred, and most of them were school children who died. Many were injured. Mournful
reactions had started pouring from all the corners of the country which had revealed
how inhumane and how barbaric this massacre was.
The attack on the Army
Public School Peshawar on December 16,
2014 was remained brutal and
a turning point
in Pakistan’s terrorism
policy as well. Following this ruthless attack, a
national agreement was made to deal with these militant organizations with iron
hand along with started implementing reprimands. The objective to launch an inclusive
operation against international and local
terrorists who are
hiding in sanctuaries in areas of North Waziristan.
On the 16th
of December, the National Action plan had also been drafted in the wake of the
Army Public School Peshawar attack to formulate a strategy to counter terrorism.
In order to implement this strategy, a parliamentary committee was formed that evaluate
the circumstances after the APS tragedy and to shed light over the necessary
laws as well as amendments in link to terrorism. From this time forth, the 21st
Amendment to the Constitution provided with a twenty-point National Action Plan
for the elimination of terrorism from the soil of Pakistan.
Immediately after the atrocious
school attack, the military operation had fastened and intense air-strikes on
militant hideouts were carried out on a massive level. During one of the
airstrikes which were carried out by the joint efforts of Pakistan Air Force
(PAF) in collaboration with the Pakistan Army Aviation Corps, Tehrik-i-Talibaan
Pakistan (TTP) faithful commander chief Maulana Fazal ullah had narrowly
escaped an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) strike on the 25th of
November. A significant progress was also witnessed on Dec 17, when Pakistan
Air Force’s military aircrafts F-16s and JF-17 thunder jets blew-up the terrorist
hideouts in the Tirah Valley as they targeted 57 terrorists. In addition to this, twenty other aerial
bombing operations were also conducted using the dynamic targeting approach.
An an unmanned aerial
vehicle ( UAV) strike targeted and had killed five alleged militants in the
area of North Waziristan on the 20th
of Dec. Additionally, an estimate of 21 Tehrik e Talibaan Pakistan (TTP ) terrorists were also killed by the
Pakistan Aviation Corps and PAF assaults
in the Khyber Agency while they were struggling to escape from Pakistan to
Afghanistan.
Army’s avengement to the terrorist
attacks and its success
When Operation Zarb e Azab had completed one and a half
years, impressive successes were achieved, and the last pockets which were
close to the Pakistan and Afghanistan border had been cleared. Terrorist was
hit where it hurt the most. They were broken and the overall structure had been
dismantled. Connection with their hideouts had
been significantly disrupted. Intelligence
based Operations (IBOs) had them busted and the remaining of the hideouts. 3,400
terrorists had been killed along with 837 hideouts were destroyed where they
had been seeking refuge and launching attacks. Since the last18 months, more
than 13,200 IBOs have been successfully carried out all across Pakistan , in
which 183 terrorists were killed whereas 2,193 of terrorist were arrested. IBOs are
still taking place in the country. Moreover, 488
officers and brave men of the Pakistan
Army, from the Frontier Corps, Northern Light Infantry, Baluch Regiment and
Rangers Sindh were killed and 1,914 had been injured in Operation Zarb-e-Azb. A total 11 military courts took place. 142
cases have been referred to the military courts in which 55 cases have been
given verdict, 87 cases are still in the process, and 31 terrorists have been
convicted. In July 2017, then Army Chief, General Raheel Sharif paid a visit to
the the military's forward areas near the Afghanistan border in the North
Waziristan. He had also been briefed
about the overall progress and the upcoming plans for the Operation Zarb-e-Azab.
Raheel Sharif had also visited areas of South Waziristan and Wana agencies. It
was stated that the Pakistan army had just completed the initial preparations
for the final phase of operations. In the vicinity of Shawal valley, peaks had been cleared marking
the last phase of the Zarb e azab . On the 3rd of April, the Pakistani
government claimed victory and the completion of the operation after the
clearance of 640 square kilometers in Shawaal valley, after killing some 250
terrorists.
Speaking to officers
and men in Shawal Valley upon successful completion of operation, the Army
Chief said:
“Standing shoulder to
shoulder with us, the entire nation highly values the sacrifices being rendered
in this fight against terrorism.”
Then chief of Army
Staff, General Raheel Sharif also said:
‘It's a matter of great
privilege and honor to be commanding such an accomplished and battle hardened
Army, We will not stop unless we achieve our end objective of a terror free
Pakistan’
Officials reported that
around 4,000 terrorists had been
killed and tons of explosives bombs had been found in parts of Miranshah, and other areas. The operation had
forced an estimate of one million civilians to leave their native homes, and
take refuge in the settled areas of Pakistan. The return of the families which
had been displaced to their homes is still under progress.
The PICSS study revealed
that the average terrorist attacks in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Federally
Administrated Tribal Areas, are the places which have been most affected by the
decade-long battle, fell significantly after operation Zarb-e-Azb. The attacks
per month in Khyber Pakhtunkhuwa had declined by 75 per cent from 49 to 12 percent . In adjacent areas of Fata,
the assaults were reduced from 31 to 16 percent. The PICSS stated that
Zarb-e-Azab also had a positive impact on the security condition of Karachi
and Punjab, where the search operation conducted
by the Rangers and Sindh Police was advanced.
Operation Zarb-e-Azab
had not only played a role in improving
the overall security situation in Pakistan, but also led to serious attacks on
the unity of the TTP terrorist
organization which split into at least three major categories once the military
action was propelled. Though the TTP
suffered differences in the beginning, it is true that the terrorists later
began coming close to each other by resolving their own internal disputes among
each other. The terrorists too tried to
resolve these disputes against the biggest threat they faced just like the local
government, armed forces, civil society others coming together to counter extremism
and the terrorism from country.
The results which the military
produced were impressive. The figures included killing of 2,763 terrorists, with 837 terrorists hideouts smashed and explosives worth 253 tonnes had been recovered.
In addition to this, 347 army
officers along with soldiers were stated to be martyred giving the ultimate
sacrifice of their sacred lives.
After the success of
operation Zarb e Azab, the terrorist
group known as Jamaat-ul-Ahrar had then launched Operation Ghazi along with several suicide attacks across
Pakistan. According to media, Jammat-ul-Ahrar had claimed the responsibility of
these terror attacks which took place and the terrorists were furious on avenging Abdul Rashid Ghazi's death who had been shot
dead by the Pakistan army in red mosque
during Operation Sunrise. Almost immediately, Pakistan army's ISPR had then announced
that they would be launching Operation Rad-ul-Fasad.
Zarb-e-Azb was
succeeded by Operation Radd-ul-Fasaad which commenced on the 22nd if February
2017, resulting a reappearance in terrorist incidents. The operation had the
prime motive of eradicating terrorism, and joining the gains of the previous
held Operation Zarb-e-Azab which was earlier
launched as joint military offensive in 2014. It also ensured the security of the
borders of Pakistan. The operation was well received by armed forces of
Pakistan Air Force, (PAF) Pakistan Navy (PN) Pakistan Police and other Civil
Armed Forces which actively participated
in this operation which was organized
under the Ministry of Interior. The National Action Plan was then also followed
as a trademark of operation of Rad ul Fasaad.
Armed forces of
Pakistan had paid a lot of sacrifices in the war against terror and were successful
in restoring peace in Federally Administered Tribal Areas along with other
neighboring areas. The National Action Plan had been formulized under consent
of the political parties in order to eradicate terrorism from the soil of
Pakistan. Every individual was obliged to show national unity to tackle the
challenges which Pakistan faced. The country wanted peace along with stability
in Afghanistan.
Even though incidents
of terrorism have significantly reduced if we compare it to a decade ago, In 2017,
numerous attacks took place such as suicide bombings along wih cross-border attacks
due to which many officers of army had lost their lives.
Pakistan Army had
sacrificed its bravest cream of officers and soldiers in these terrorist assaults
within the country and externally from Afghanistan during anti-terrorist
operations.
In the same way, the
civilian law enforcement agencies such as police had also witnessed this brunt
of terrorism, as quite a lot of junior officials had been shot dead in Karachi
and several of top level officers had sacrificed their lives due to the suicide
attacks which took place in Balochistan, and Khyber Pakhtunkhuwa.
Pakistan has successfully
countered terrorism in the region with a war which entered Pakistan from the
2,611 kilometer poorly operated Pak-Afghan border when United States had led alliance
forces which were responsible for the military operations which were launched in Afghanistan against
terrorist group of Al Qaeda. However, no well-structured sanctuaries, are
present for finding these terrorists. Operation Raddul Fasaad, a massive
intelligence-based operation is still in progress.
Aftermath of this
operation has significantly decreased violence which had spread all across the
country. 2.7 million Afghan refugees who were residing in the country have
converted into peaceful refugees, so there is a need to start deporting them to
their home country.
Currently there are
more than 200,000 troops of Pakistan
Army which are set up in Federally Administered Tribal Areas as well as the
border with Afghanistan and the deployment will remain in spite of successes
with in country as threat continues to exist in Afghanistan owing to lack of
capacity of Afghan military forces.
In order to maintain its
success, Pakistan Army is currently fencing the whole 2,611-km length of its
border with Afghanistan and building new check posts along the border to limit
access of terrorists in the free cross-border movement.
Furthermore, on the 25th
of November 2017, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia’s Special Forces took part in combined
exercise to counter-terrorism ‘Al-Shehab II” in Riyadh. The exercise lasted for
two weeks ending on 10th December. Pakistani commission constituted
of 68 officers and soldiers of Special Services Group (SSG) participating in
this exercise. The objective of the Pak-Saudi joint exercise was to help
participating troops from each side to gain knowledge from each other’s
experiences in the field of counter-terrorism and build up bilateral cooperation
among the two forces.
Pakistan Army has not
only taken kinetic operations, but also started major socio-economic
development projects in the cleared areas of country which is intended to
carrying a forward relative stability to ensure peace. Pakistan Army has also
played an imperative role in ensuring the overall progress and achievement of projects
related to China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). The leadership of Pakistan
Army is currently utilizing all the influence and power it has
on the stakeholder, as well as the politicians along with civil
servants, who are taking part in this campaign for the development of infrastructure
and utilization of energy to make our country economically stronger as well
eradicating terrorism.
Several military
activities, for example, Operation Zarb-e-Azab and Operation Rad-ul Fasaad have
impressively reduced the terrorist’s attacks as well as the capacity of the
psychological oppressors to assault Pakistanis.
The Former Chief of
Army Staff , Former Prime Minister of Pakistan, Mr. M. Nawaz Sharif, and all
the leading political forces of Pakistan had taken a united verdict to eradicate
terrorism from the pure soil of Pakistan. The successful Operation Zarb-e-Azb,
and the army public school comeback had broken the strength of terrorists even
though their hideouts are still not under the radar at the moment. ISPR of
Pakistan Army had released
figures, after every
year, weighing up the
endeavors of Operation
Zarb-e-Azab, comparatively there
is peace and tranquility in several cities which
were previously under
a severe terrorist target for the most part of FATA.
The yearly security
report of Pakistan Institute of Peace Studies have shown that fear occurrences
have reduced from the number 2,555 in year
2013 to 749 in year 2016, which
had a drastic fall from thousands just to hundreds. People who had faced injury
were 6,932 in 2013 and fell to 1,956 in year 2016, In addition to
this, the causalities had also reduced from 4,725 in 2013 to 1,887 in
year 2016. The ongoing Operation Khyber-4 has in addition fixed the hold on
the psychological oppressors who have been working close to Afghan fringe.
In addition to this, Pakistan
Army has successfully fought the world's biggest war on counter terrorism with
a total deployment which exceeds 202,000
soldiers in the federally administered tribal areas of Pakistan (FATA).
Pakistan also provides intelligence with above 70 countries" and has also
sacrificed a total of 75,000 innocent civilians
and 6000 soldiers who had been
succumbed to terrorism.
We must acknowledge the
countless efforts of Pakistan Armed Forces especially Pakistan Army as well as
the civilian law enforcing agencies such as Police and the government work
which led to Pakistan eliminating the marks of terrorism from the land. Pakistan
has made a lot of sacrifices in this war waged against terrorism. The current advancements
in Pakistan’s war against terrorism has been set as a benchmark for not only
the provincial nations, but the world. Despite the fact Pakistan is successfully
fighting the fear-based oppressors residing on the pure soil, it also expects
the Afghan powers, Nato and US to do the same in Afghanistan. It is vital not
only for Pakistan, but also the different nations which should struggle to
defeat the regular enemy and defeat terrorism making this world a safer place
to live in.
