30 killed Pakistani airstrikes
Pakistani fighter jets bombarded Taliban hideouts
in the troubled northwest Tuesday, killing at least 30 in the fourth airstrikes
since peace talks stalled, in what analysts say is a surgical operation to
reassert the military's dominance.
The morning attacks on hideouts in the North and South
Waziristan tribal districts were the latest in a series of airstrikes by the
Pakistan Air Force, PAF, since February 20 that have killed more than 100
alleged militants.
Experts say the strikes are designed to give the military
the upper-hand if peace talks, which were suspended last week, resume and do
not believe the army is prepared to launch a full-fledged operation in the
area.
Independent verification of the death tolls in the strikes
has not been possible since it is difficult for journalists to enter the area
and civilian administrators are reluctant to comment.
The focus of Tuesday's attacks, which also involved
helicopter gunships, was mostly the mountainous Shawal valley and Datta Khel in
North Waziristan, and Sararogha in neighbouring South Waziristan, the officials
said.
Residents said hundreds of families have fled their homes.
"People are leaving the area after a deadlock in peace
talks," a resident of Miranshah told AFP by telephone requesting
anonymity.
They are taking shelter with relatives in Peshawar and other
cities further away from the border, residents said.
Earlier this month Pakistan had entered into talks with the
Taliban aimed at ending their seven-year insurgency.
But the militant group continued carrying out attacks on a
near-daily basis, with dialogue suspended after the insurgents claimed last
week they had executed 23 kidnapped soldiers in a northwestern tribal region.
Since then the PAF has conducted a number of airstrikes in
the volatile tribal regions.
- 'No operation' -
Retired general and security analyst Talat Masood said the
military may be attempting to strengthen its position if talks eventually
resume.
"The peace process if at all it continues now would be
from a position of strength and not from a position of weakness. For some time
it looked like (the Taliban) had the upper hand. These attacks change
that," he said.
But despite the show of force, experts say the Pakistani
military is not set to expand the operation with boots on the ground.
Such a move would require much planning with help from US
and Afghan forces on the other side of the border, as well as a contingency
plan for the massive upheaval of refugees, Masood said.
"In all probability they will engage in limited but
forceful or targeted strikes for some time to weaken and push the
militants," he said.
Imtiaz Gul, another security analyst, said: "Targeted
strikes will continue in the near future also, they will neither end nor
expand."
Negotiators for both the government and Taliban meanwhile
told AFP the door for further dialogue remains open.
Professor Muhammad Ibrahim, a member of the Taliban talks
team, said: "I don't rule out the possibility of resumption of talks at
any stage."
"We will keep appealing both the government and the
Taliban to stop following the path of violence and resume the stalled
dialogue."
Rahimullah Yusufzai, a member of the government team, said
the process could resume if the Taliban agreed to a ceasefire without
preconditions and explain the deaths of the abducted soldiers.
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