ISAS Briefs

In this first of a series of briefs that will follow Pakistan’s military campaign to oust the Taliban from the South Waziristan tribal agency – one of the seven that constitute Pakistan’s Federally Administered Tribal Areas – I will provide some details about the background of the ongoing conflict between the Pakistani state and the stateless Islamic insurgents. The army’s operation in South Waziristan began on 17 October 2009 when 30,000 soldiers began to slowly move into the area inhabited by the fiercely independent Mehsud tribe. The tribe formed the backbone of the Tehrik-e- Taliban Pakistan (TTP), now led by Hakimullah Mehsud. The new leader took over when an attack by an American Predator killed Baitullah Mehsud, who was accused of ordering a number of murderous attacks on various targets in Pakistan. He was also alleged to have been the mastermind behind the assassination of Ms Benazir Bhutto on 27 December 2007. The military had declared its intention of a major assault on the Mehsuds in the area. It began after a week of terrorist attacks for which the TTP took responsibility. The attacks, including one on the army headquarters in Rawalpindi on 10 and 11 October 2009, took 175 lives. It was reported that the move into South Waziristan by the military had the full support of the United States which is rushing in supplies needed by the Pakistani forces.