Fierce Fighting and an Unclear Ending

Pakistan has been a long standing ally of the United States in the war on terror. In the past decade, the nation has suffered countless suicide attacks in major cities such as Peshawar. According to The New York Times, on Mar. 12 the Pakistani Army made a decisive strike against the area of Makeen. Makeen is a terrorist hot-spot. The New York Times reports that insurgents, headed by Baitullah Mehsud, have used the area to attack Pakistani cities and military installments with a “ferocious onslaught of suicide bombings and commando raids.”

In response, the Pakistani Army launched an attack from their base in the foothills of the South Waziristan mountains. They began artillery attacks that destroyed houses and schools which, according to The New York Times, were used by Mehsud to hide large amounts of heavy weapons. The Pakistani army has made great progress with the offensive. The attack on Makeen has taken “the war to the Taliban…rather than retreating behind successive peace deals as it once did,” reports The New York Times.

The fighting itself is strange to the Pakistani Army. The nuclear-armed military is trained for conventional warfare. Therefore, it has been forced to adapt to the current conflict in “strange ways,” reports The New York Times. This was evident in a village just north of Makeen, where a Pakistani officer trained in mountain climbing scaled a 7,000 foot cliff with 15 men. This put them at a strategic position above 300 insurgents upon whom they fired.  The New York Times reports Lt. Col. Nisar Mughal of the Pakistani Army commenting: “The terrorists are nowhere and everywhere…this is a strange kind of warfare.”

According to The New York Times, the Pakistani army also had to build its own infrastructure. In order to lengthen supply lines, soldiers made use of six donkeys and a bulldozer to carve a trail used to carry weapons and ammunition. The trail is a crucial element of the war effort in Makeen. The supplies delivered on the trail will be used to build a new “forward base” which will overlook Makeen. The trail took 45 days to build and will be significant in further efforts in Makeen.

These Pakistani efforts will be supported by the United States. The New York Times calls the United States “a long-distance participant and a keen cheerleader in the current Pakistani campaign.” The U.S. has aided Pakistan by sending artillery, helicopters, body armor and surveillance drones. Washington has also pledged $55 million to help repair roads and infrastructure in the area. Most importantly, U.S. efforts eliminated Baitullah Mehsud and his successor, Hakimullah Mehsud, using drone attacks.

The New York Times reports that in return for this aid, the Obama administration requests a “full-scale offensive” by the Pakistani Army in North Waziristan against the Afghan segment of the Taliban. North Waziristan is a strategic location from which the Taliban launches attacks on American and NATO forces fighting in Afghanistan.

The most difficult part of the Makeen campaign, according to The New York Times, is resettlement. In the fall of 2009, the civilians of the area were evacuated. Now, the Pakistani Army will ask the displaced civilians to return to their villages. However, insurgents are expected to come back and blend in with the civilians. Second, the infrastructure has not yet been rebuilt. The damages (demolished homes, schools, and other buildings) have not been fixed and compensation by the government to the civilians has not yet been offered. The New York Times also reports that the Army will stay in Makeen for another 18 months to help stabilize the region.

Many civilians have expressed displeasure with returning while the Army is present. According to The New York Times, one Pakistani civilian says that “soldiers…will become targets of the militants, and the people will be caught in between.” 

After fierce fighting in war–torn Makeen, there is still an unclear ending. According to reporters, if all goes well, resettlement will be successful, a continuing military presence will stabilize the region, and Pakistan will aid the U.S. effort in Afghanistan by attacking Taliban forces in North Waziristan.