PAKISTANI forces bombarded suspected militant hide-outs with mortar shells yesterday at the start of a major offensive against Taliban fighters threatening the main city in the country's volatile north-west, officials said.
The offensive in the Khyber tribal region marked the first major military action Pakistan's newly-elected government has taken against the militants operating along the border with Afghanistan.
The government had said it preferred to defuse tensio
n through negotiations, but with threats to the city of Peshawar growing in recent weeks, the military decided to take action. Khyber is also is a key route for US military supplies into neighbouring Afghanistan.
In response to the operation and other confrontations with security forces, Baitullah Mehsud, the Taliban leader in Pakistan, said he was suspending talks with the government. "Peace cannot be brought with force and aggression," he said. "This will be very unfortunate for the Pakistani nation if fighting starts again."
A round-the-clock curfew was imposed in the Bara area bordering Peshawar, and heavy contingents of troops blocked the main road into Khyber, said Mujeeb Khan, a senior local official. "All bazaars are shut, and residents have been asked not to come out of their homes."
By yesterday afternoon, the paramilitary Frontier Corps began shelling suspected militant hide-outs in the mountains in Khyber.
Tauseef Haider, a top official with the Frontier Constabulary – a local law enforcement agency – said his forces had brought in reinforcements and heavy weapons to protect Peshawar and its more than one million residents.
"Since the operation is going on in the tribal area, we have to be extra cautious," he said from the constabulary's brick outpost in Shahkas, outside Peshawar. "We will not let any militant come this way."
A likely target of the offensive was the Vice and Virtue Movement of militant leader Haji Namdar, which is suspected of attacks against Coalition soldiers in Afghanistan. Namdar has sought to impose his own strict brand of Islamic law in the region. He, however, is at odds with Mehsud.
The offensive also could target Menghal Bagh, whose fighters have waged attacks in Peshawar. Bagh's followers have been accused of threatening supply convoys bound for Coalition forces in Afghanistan.
Namdar's group said an offensive would create further problems. "If the government thinks there is any issue to address, that should be resolved through talks, not by the use of force," said Munsif Khan, spokesman for the group. "We are ready for talks with the government."
There has been growing concern about threats to Peshawar. Two weeks ago, a Taliban force from Khyber entered the city and kidnapped 16 Christians, who were later released.
Mahmood Shah, a former security chief in the tribal regions, said the Taliban "are on our doorstep" around Peshawar. "The situation is like water flowing into a field and until you have some obstruction to stop it, you will drown. We are drowning," he said.
Shah said a leadership vacuum in Islamabad supplied more oxygen to a burgeoning Taliban movement, which now controls the tribal regions bordering Afghanistan. "It is completely under their control. Everyone now is waiting for some action from the federal government, some coherent policy decision," he said.
The full article contains 539 words and appears in Scotland On Sunday newspaper.
