More casualties in a vicious little war

A Taliban attack on an isolated army outpost in Northwest Pakistan is just another incident in a vicious little war that has largely slipped from the world’s attention.

At least 35 people were killed in the attack, including 13 soldiers and 12 militants. The remaining casualties were civilians, presumably caught in the crossfire.

A Taliban spokesman said the attack was a reprisal for an American drone strike last month which killed two of its commanders.

The comment highlights the fact that while politicians in Islamabad routinely denounce American ‘violations’ of Pakistan’s territorial sovereignty, the armed forces of the two countries are quietly cooperating in eliminating the Taliban, which is in both their interests.

Pakistan needs American technology to pinpoint insurgent positions and, where possible, disrupt the enemy through remote drone attacks. The US, under pressure and with a time deadline to clear the Taliban from Afghanistan, wants an efficient and effective Pakistan force on the ground to ensure the tribal areas are not used as training and recruiting areas which Americans themselves cannot reach without creating an international incident.

It should be remembered that in 2009 the Taliban had advanced to within a few hours’ drive of Islamabad itself, with the very real possibility that the country’s nuclear facilities, including its store of nuclear weapons, could fall into rebel hands.

That threat has been largely removed with a slow but steady army advance into the Taliban heartland in the northern tribal areas. The army has been aided by disputes between the militant factions themselves with reports that recent clashes involving the Taliban and Ansar al-Islam over a disputed base had resulted in almost 60 deaths.  

Meanwhile militants continue to attack health workers trying to administer polio vaccine to children in the tribal areas. In the latest incident two polio workers travelling to a village were killed when their motorcycle hit a roadside bomb. This comes less than a week after a policeman protecting polio workers was gunned down.

While Pakistan is one of the few remaining countries where polio is endemic, militants claim the vaccination program is just a front for a US campaign to sterilise Muslim children.

The latest fighting comes as a report by Pakistani and Indian economists reveal that there is a massive untapped potential for trade between the two countries, raising the value from its current $2.5 billion annually to possibly as much as $50 billion.

Clearly a peaceful, stable Pakistan has much to gain.