Kuala Lumpur: Pakistan's offensive in South
Waziristan has been "very successful" and the military is
likely to achieve most of its objectives before winter sets
in, the Foreign Minister said Sunday.
Since October 17 some 30,000 Pakistani troops have been
waging a major assault against Taliban fighters hiding out in
the formidable terrain of South Waziristan, which borders
Afghanistan.
Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said the military
has made significant headway in the region, part of the tribal
belt where United States officials say al Qaeda is plotting
attacks on the West.
"The operation so far has been very successful. The
resistance that we were expecting initially did not come with
the same stiffness as we expected," he said on the sidelines
of a conference of developing nations in Kuala Lumpur.
"We would want to achieve our objectives as much as
possible before the winter sets in. It seems, as things are
going on right now, that we might be able to do so," he said.
"That area becomes very cold so we want to operate and
establish our foothold before that," he said. Qureshi would
not give a date, but winter sets in around mid-December in
that region.
Qureshi said that many important towns and locations
were now in the control of Pakistan's Army and that "quite a
few" militants had been killed or arrested.
Bureau Report
First Published: Sunday, November 01, 2009, 20:50