Before being appointed in January as the new head of Inter Services Public Relations, Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas commanded Pakistan Army’s Strike Formation — the 6th Armored Division with its headquarters in Kharian Cantonment. Abbas now coordinates the military’s public information efforts. The major general sat down with Arab News recently to discuss military operations in Swat.Excerpts from an interview:
What is the exact strategy of Taleban militants in areas like Swat, Lower Dir and Buner?
If they continue to make advances and cross Walnut Heights of Kalam and Miandri they can reach Hazara Division where Pakistan’s many important defense establishments are located.
Yes, this appears to be their strategy. But now we have gone for a full-scale operation. We have a free hand and we have contained and encircled them in Swat and Buner. This is one of reasons these militants could not send suicide bombers to Pakistan’s other cities.
Previously, due to political expediencies, we were carrying out our operations in a slipshod manner. I mean, one hand was tied and the other one free. There is and was a civilian government in the North West Frontier Province, so we had to only go for defensive operations and we were mostly trying to persuade local people to avoid violence and militancy.
Who is funding them?
To the best of our knowledge and gatherings from intelligence outfits, every militant gets $6,000 to $8,000. They are mercenaries. We know who is masterminding their operations, but for several reasons at this moment, I cannot divulge who this is.
The militants we have so far arrested are Arabs, Tajiks, Uzbeks and Afghans. Their objective is to defame Islam and the Pakistan Army in the eyes of the population. The appeal was being aired through Radio Swat and the locals who were victims of the brutalities of the terrorists to come forward and help security forces by identifying the terrorists.
Precautionary steps had been taken to prevent the spillover of the insurgency into sensitive areas. Forces have been made available in the areas to where the terrorists could possibly move.
Have you located Maulana Fazlullah and other valuable targets?
Maulana Fazlullah and Muslim Khan had been targeted but there is no authentic information on their killings as of yet.
Do you know when they entered Swat?
Certainly, but we have to follow instructions from the civilian government. The government desired to resolve the Swat problem through the promulgation of the Shariah Ordinance (but) we were aware of their (the militants’) real motives. Sufi Muhammad, instead of keeping peace, unfolded his plan by appointing his “governors” in several districts of Malakand Agency and he revolted against the state. In my view he was not in the driver’s seat. It was his son-in-law, Maulana Fazlullah, who heads this chapter of Baitullah’s Mehsud’s Tehrike-Taleban Pakistan. These militants are fighting like a professional guerrilla army. Their methods are to keep sneaking in at a medium but constant pace, right?
They are well trained. They know how to handle weapons, sophisticated weapons. They are trained to lay ambushes, how to plant land mines, how and where to engage military and paramilitary forces.
Has the Pakistan Army dismantled the militants’ command and communication structure?
To an extent we have silenced their FM radios. We have killed their many commanders and the latest confirmed reports suggest one of the top commanders, Abdu Talib, was killed with at least 20 other militants.
How long this operation will continue?
Our goal is to finish it in a minimum period of time with as little collateral damage as possible — as I have told you, after getting civilian government sanction. The army has applied its best available options to encircle the militants and to contain them and destroy their well-fortified bunkers. We have done most of this job.
What was the objective of the militants’ move to Buner?
Buner was not the end. These militants had planned to capture the vital KKH (Kara Koram Highway) or the Silk Route that links Pakistan with China. Having the best knowledge of their plans, we adopted sufficient contingency measures to besiege and kill them.
Do you know who is planning the operations of militants: The Taleban or the terrorists?
Yes, we know, but we at this juncture cannot disclose details. But let me say these militants come from Afghanistan. The Afghan soil is being used for their training. We do know of their handlers and their methodology of recruiting local human resources in the name of Islam. But their many mistakes have exposed them.
Has the army committed enough resources in the affected areas to resolve this matter?
We have sufficient armed forces available in Malakand Division to annihilate them.
