Taliban Attacks Are Widening Conflict in Pakistan - WSJ.com

Taliban Attacks Are Widening Conflict in Pakistan - WSJ.com

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PESHAWAR, Pakistan -- The Taliban have stepped up attacks on government forces in a militant stronghold bordering Afghanistan after months of relative calm there, according to residents and officials, raising the prospect that Pakistan's military may extend its offensive against the militants.

People flee Mingora, in the Swat Valley, on Sunday during the temporary lifting of a curfew after the Pakistani army regained control of the town.

The intensifying violence in South Waziristan, home to the nominal leader of the Pakistani Taliban, comes a month after Pakistani forces began fighting their way up the Swat Valley, another militant stronghold where soldiers this weekend wrested the main town from the Taliban. The military launched its assault in Swat after the Taliban violated a peace agreement that had given them control of the area.

"The Taliban are flexing their muscles to fight" in South Waziristan, said Muhammad Shajahan, 33 years old, who last week fled clashes in the area. "The Taliban want complete power and control."

Buoyed by a wave of anti-Taliban sentiment in Pakistan, the country's leaders say they are now determined to stop that from happening after years of cutting peace deals with the Taliban and pulling troops from a broad arc of militant strongholds that stretches from South Waziristan, a lawless northwestern tribal region that has for centuries resisted outside control, to Swat, a once-popular Alpine vacation spot overrun by the insurgents in the past two years.

Pakistan's Army Takes Back Key Town

Pakistan's military says Swat's main town of Mingora is "fully under control."

"If need be, we can go into Waziristan or any other area where the militants are fighting," said Farahnaz Ispahani, a spokeswoman for President Asif Ali Zardari, in an interview Sunday. "We are looking at this as an all-out war."

So far in South Waziristan and adjacent North Waziristan, civilian and military officials say the security forces are only defending themselves. The two regions, where a murky peace deal has held for months amid relative calm, have seen a spike in attacks since Taliban commanders nearly two weeks ago issued an ultimatum demanding the military completely withdraw from the area.

An offensive in one or both of the Waziristans, two of the mountainous tribal regions where the Taliban and al Qaeda have flourished since being pushed from Afghanistan in 2001, would likely be welcomed by Washington but represents a significant challenge for Pakistan's military. The regions are remote and dominated by the most powerful Taliban commanders, including Baitullah Mehsud. He heads the Tehrik-e-Taliban, a loose confederation of militant groups known collectively as the Pakistan Taliban. While there are links between the Pakistan and Afghan Taliban, the two are considered distinct.

The U.S. says Mr. Mehsud is a major al Qaeda facilitator, and Pakistani intelligence officials say his territory is home to hundreds of foreign fighters, many from Uzbekistan. He has taken credit for a series of recent terrorist attacks deep in Pakistan's heartland, such as the suicide car bombing that last week killed at least 24 people in the eastern city of Lahore.

A direct assault on South Waziristan would likely prompt more attacks in Pakistan's major cities. There is also concern about how Pakistan would handle another wave of refugees on top of the more than three million who already have fled fighting in Swat.

Civilians have begun trickling out of South Waziristan, and a local official said Sunday that about 30,000 people have left in the past two weeks. The U.N.'s refugee agency is drawing up plans to handle hundreds of thousands more refugees expected to flee violence in South Waziristan, said Ariane Rummery, a spokeswoman for the organization in Pakistan. The latest violence came this weekend when fighters loyal to Mr. Mehsud ambushed an army convoy, sparking hours of fighting that officials say left at least 50 militants and two soldiers dead. A few hours later, militants rocketed an army camp, prompting soldiers to launch a brief foray into a nearby village to clear out the insurgents.

The soldiers are being helped by a rival from within Mr. Mehsud's tribe, say intelligence officials. Fighters loyal to the breakaway commander, Qari Zainuddin, are helping security forces in South Waziristan identify Mr. Mehsud's men and locate their hideouts. They also have offered to fight alongside Pakistani forces, an offer that was declined for now, said an intelligence official.

The aid being provided by Mr. Zainuddin's fighters is an indication of the growing frustration across the tribal areas with the Pakistan Taliban, whose rigid take on Islamic law and violent treatment of rivals, real and perceived, has alienated many people.

AFP/Getty Images

Pakistan Defense Secretary Syed Athar Ali said the month-old military operations in Swat Valley "have met almost complete success."

The increased likelihood of open conflict in South Waziristan comes as the military makes gains in Swat. On Saturday, it said it had retaken Swat's main town, Mingora, from the Taliban. On Sunday, Pakistan's defense secretary said the offensive in the valley was nearing its end. "Only 5% to 10% of the job is left, and over the next two or three days this area will be cleared," retired Lt. Gen. Syed Athar Ali told a meeting of defense officials and experts in Singapore.

The military has been battling the militants in Swat since the collapse of a peace deal a month ago. The army started the operation under heavy U.S. pressure, and Washington is eager to see signs that Pakistan is serious about its commitment to battle rising militancy.