Spring Break
Pakistan commander warns against collateral damage
ROHAN SULLIVAN - Associated Press Writer
Issue date: 6/17/09 Section: News
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The government is seeking to capitalize on public support for its 6-week-old offensive in the Swat Valley region and open a new front in a nearby lawless tribal zone where al-Qaida and the Taliban are entrenched.
The military action is being welcomed by the United States as a strong stand against militants after years of failed offensives and striking deals rather than confronting Taliban hard-liners directly.
But the weak government is also keenly aware that public support could sour if civilian casualties escalate or the task of resettling more than 2 million refugees displaced by fighting is badly handled.
A top official in the northwest said Sunday that the government had given the order to send the military after Pakistani Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud. The announcement was interpreted as effectively giving the go-ahead for a fresh military offensive in Waziristan, the semiautonomous tribal region on the border with Afghanistan that is rumored to be a hiding place of Osama bin Laden and where Mehsud makes his base.
The military reportedly closed key roads leading into the area Monday, but there was no immediate sign of fighting.
In a carefully stage-managed event Monday, selected television outlets taped armed forces chief Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani dressed in a tight-fitting flight suit clambering into the copilot's seat of an F-16 fighter-bomber before taking off for a flight over the Swat Valley.
In an address to officers before the trip, Kayani denounced Mehsud and the Taliban leader in Swat, Maulana Fazlullah, saying they had nothing to do with Islam.
"Terrorists are the enemies of Pakistan and enemies of Islam. We have to eliminate them," Kayani was quoted as saying by Geo TV, one of three networks invited to cover the event. No questions were allowed.
He also stressed the importance of avoiding civilian casualties.
"In the present circumstances ... it is difficult to differentiate between friend and enemy," Kayani told the officers. "The problem is that you have to separate black from white ... to avoid collateral damage."
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