From The Sunday Times
May 17, 2009
Pakistan to attack Taliban in Bin Ladenâs lair
Christina Lamb and Daud Khattak in Buner
PAKISTAN is to extend its war on the Taliban beyond Swat into the fiercely independent tribal areas bordering Afghanistan where Osama Bin Laden and the Al-Qaeda leadership are believed to be hiding.
âWeâre going to go into Waziristan, all these regions, with army operations,â President Asif Ali Zardari told The Sunday Times in an interview. âSwat is just the start. Itâs a larger war to fight.â
He said Pakistan would need billions of pounds in military assistance and aid for up to 1.7m refugees, the biggest movement of people since the countryâs split from India in 1947.
To help take on the militants, the Pakistan army is for the first time to accept counterinsurgency training from British and American troops on its own soil.
âWe need to develop our capability and we need much more support,â said Zardari. âWe need much, much more than the $1 billion [military aid] weâve been getting, which is nothing. Weâve got 150,000 troops in [the tribal areas] - just the movement of that number would cost $1 billion.â
More on the link
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article6301815.ece
May 17, 2009
Pakistan to attack Taliban in Bin Ladenâs lair
Christina Lamb and Daud Khattak in Buner
PAKISTAN is to extend its war on the Taliban beyond Swat into the fiercely independent tribal areas bordering Afghanistan where Osama Bin Laden and the Al-Qaeda leadership are believed to be hiding.
âWeâre going to go into Waziristan, all these regions, with army operations,â President Asif Ali Zardari told The Sunday Times in an interview. âSwat is just the start. Itâs a larger war to fight.â
He said Pakistan would need billions of pounds in military assistance and aid for up to 1.7m refugees, the biggest movement of people since the countryâs split from India in 1947.
To help take on the militants, the Pakistan army is for the first time to accept counterinsurgency training from British and American troops on its own soil.
âWe need to develop our capability and we need much more support,â said Zardari. âWe need much, much more than the $1 billion [military aid] weâve been getting, which is nothing. Weâve got 150,000 troops in [the tribal areas] - just the movement of that number would cost $1 billion.â
More on the link
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article6301815.ece