There might be some people who will still insist that there are no terrorists in this world, but the latest fighting in Pakistan proved one thing - that terrorists are present.

Terrorists iaround the country have suddenly launched a full-scale war against the armed forces. Poor and innocent people have also been falling prey to the latest fighting. This is an establsihed fact that rulers have created terrorists for keeping themselves in power. But now the rulers of Pakistan cannot deceive the world. Now the truth is coming to the fore.

Daily Times in its editorial discussed the situation in Pakistan. The army has engaged the terrorists in Darra Adam Khel inside the NWFP after four ammunition trucks meant for its frontline troops were captured by the Taliban. The Darra, lying between Peshawar and Kohat, was “regular” only in name because illegal weapons have been made here by local craftsmen for the last 150 years and Pakistan has done nothing to “normalise” the town, letting it remain wild like the rest of the Tribal Areas. But Darra is close to Aurakzai and South Waziristan tribal agencies and is the lifeline of the rebellious Taliban. The army had to go in and engage because munitions had been intercepted and stolen. According to local sources, the trucks contained enough ammunition to last the Taliban two years. This means that the battle has come into a chunk of “settled” territory.



The Taliban and their extremist supporters have been challenging the state in many parts of Pakistan. But this is the first time a major battle is being fought by the army with heavy artillery, tanks and helicopter gunships. There were earlier incidents in Darra which clearly indicated that the Taliban were consolidating themselves in the area but action was avoided in favour of parleys and other methods of negotiation that did not work. Next door Kohat too was targeted and despite the fact that a cantonment exists there, not much action was taken to stop the activities of the Taliban and their sympathisers in the city. In fact out of all the settled areas of the NWFP Kohat has remained the most loyal stronghold of pro-Taliban elements who remain prepared to give shelter to the “foreigners” who escaped to the Tribal Areas from Afghanistan after the Tora Bora offensive in 2001.





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