The Greek saying “money is the sinew of war” is proving true in Pakistan as its armed forces have mobilised an all-round assault against the Taliban. However, it appears more to be an eyewash than anything concrete. With the promise of billions of American dollars as civilian and military aid, Pakistan has told the US Administration that it has begun a massive anti-Taliban offensive. Incidentally, it is after two earlier failed attempts that Islamabad had to once again assure US President Barack Obama that its forces are indeed marching forward to dislodge the jihadis from the areas held by them.
According to the Pakistan military sources, the Taliban and its allies had around 5,000 fighters in the Swat Valley. Over the last few years some of the most feared jihadi organisations have opened offices in Swat, a halfway point in a militant transit route running between Indian Kashmir and eastern Afghanistan. How far Pakistan is serious about wiping out the Taliban and Al Qaeda in the region cannot be ascertained as media and international rescue and relief operations are not allowed within the war zone, and one has to depend on the claims made by the Pakistani Army.
Notwithstanding financial assistance, US Central Command Chief General David Patreaus has warned Pakistan that it will be forced to act if the country is not able to take concrete action against the Taliban. On the other hand, the deteriorating situation in the war zone has forced Mr Obama to comment that the civilian Government in Pakistan is fragile and ill-equipped to handle the crisis on the ground.
It is undoubtedly because of the Pakistani Army’s patronage that the Taliban has gained so much in strength. For media consumption the Pakistani Army says that more than 800 Taliban fighters have been killed by its forces. Yet there is no trace of the bodies. This fact has been confirmed by war correspondents representing national and international newspapers.
The Pakistani Government has demonstrated a lack of capacity and will to fight the Taliban and Al Qaeda. Islamabad needs to learn from Sri Lanka, if it is serious at all about exterminating terrorism from its soil. No quarter should be spared in the fight against the jihadis. Only a take-no-prisoners attitude can win this war for Pakistan.
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