Rao faizan ali Sp09-bcs-082 Rafi ullah Sp09-bcs-78 Syed mudsasr bilal Sp09-bcs-094 Sharafat ali Sp09-bcs-90

Table of contents 1-background

2-operation 3-attack on lower dir 4-attack on buner 5-main operation activties 6-battle for mingora 7-alleged capture of sufi muhammad and other leaders 8-casualties 9-foreign involvment and aftermathes

Operation Rah-e-

Rast

Background: A temporary ceasefire was called in the Malakand region on February 16, 2009. The prprovovinincicialal gove governrnmementnt agre agreeded to alalloloww thee th

implementation of Sharia in the region once violence had stopped. Muhammad traveled to Swat to discuss peace with Fazlullah and his ffoolllloowweerrss,, whho w o aaggrreeeedd ttoo oobbsseerrvvee tthhee ceasefire. OOnn FFeebbrruuaarryy 2244,, 22000099 Muusslliim M m KhKhanan,, spok spokepeperersosonn of ththee TehrTehrik-ik-i-i-TalTalibibanan PaPakikiststanan (TTP (TTP)) pupublbliciclyly anno announuncecedd that that hiss hi group would observe an indefinite ceasefire. TThhee AN ANPP sseenntt tthhee bbiillll ttoo PPrreessiiddeenntt Assif A if AAlili Zardari, who delayed signing it into law until the "the writ of the government [had] been esestatablblisishehed.d. Soon Soon afteafterr thatthat the mililitami tantntss exexpanpandededd thei theirr terr territitororyy inintoto othe otherr dist distririctctss and by mid-April they took Buner, Lower Dir

and Shangla. With the takeover the militants came within 60 miles (97 km) of the capitcapitalal of PakisPakistan,tan, Islamabad.Islamabad. This raised the alaralarmm amoamongng wester westernn countr countriesies,, partic particulaularlyrly tthhee UUnniitteedd SSttaatteess,, tthhaatt a ccoollllaappssee ooff tthhee country and a Taliban takeover was playing out. And the government was highly criticized fforor mamakikingng ppeaeacece ddeealalss witth wi h tthehe mililit m itanantts.s. UUnnddeerr pprreessssuurree ffrroomm Waasshhiinnggttoonn, W , tthhee Pakistani government launched an operation in late April to retake all territory lost in the previous months.

Operation:

Attack on Lower Dir:

OOppeerraattiioonn TTooaarr TTaannddeerr--II ((BBllaacckk TThuhundndererststororm-m-I)I) bebegagann in LoLowewerr Dir Dir as ththee Frontier Corps (FC) killed 26 Taliban, including kekeyy cocommmmanandedersrs Maul Maulananaa Shah Shahidid and and Qari Qari Quraish. The operation was launched on April 26, after tthhee TTaalliibbaann,, iinn vviioollaattiioonn ooff tthhee ppeeaaccee aaggrreeeemmeenntt,, aattttacackkeedd sseeccuurriittyy ffoorrcceess aanndd

government officials and closed roads for the movement of government and FC convoys. In some villages, the Taliban had looted shops and tortured villagers to gain their support, adding that a jirga had also been forced to back them. Officials said the forces were gaining ground aaggaiainnsstt tthhee TTalalibibaann and and tthheeirir hhidideeoouuttss iinn KaKalklkotot,, Isla Islamm DaDarara anandd Hosh Hoshyayariri Dara Dara were were tartargetgeted.ed. Parami Paramilitlitaryary trotroopsops and helico helicoptepterr gugunsnshihipsps bomb bombeded sususpspecectetedd TaTalilibabann base basess dduurriinngg tthhee ooppeerraattiioonn.. EEiigghhtt ssoollddiieerrss aanndd around 50 militants were killed in two days of fifighghtitingng.. ThThee oper operatatioionn most mostlyly clea cleareredd thee th Lower of Taliban forces by April 28. HoHowewevever,r, the the mimililitataryry wawass ststililll fifighghtitingng with with pockets of militant resistance in the coming weeks.

Attack on Buner:

The second phase of the operation started the same day as fighting in Lower Dir was ddyyiningg ddoowwnn.. TThhee PPaakkiissttanan Arrm A myy''ss ppuusshh ttoo

rreettaakkee ccoonnttrrooll ooff Buunneerr, B , whhiicch w h waas w s oonnllyy

100 kilometres (62 mi) away from the capital cciittyy IIssllaammaabbaadd,, ssttaarrtteedd.. PPaakkiissttaannii SSSSGG ccoommmmaannddooss sswwaarrmmeedd ddoowwnn rrooppeess ffrroomm hheelliiccoopptteerrss ttoo eenntteerr tthhee ttoowwnn ooff DDaaggggaarr,, which lies in the strategically important Buna valley to the northwest of Islamabad, killing nearly 50 militants [16]. Army leaders hoped to trap about 500 militants in between the airdropped troops and a second force that is advancing on the ground towards Taliban positions at the valley's entrance. The fate of

Taliban7755 ppoolliicce ine Buner ooffffiicceerrs thes ttaakkeenpreviousn hhoossttaagge nighte remained bbyy tthhee unclear. 18 were rescued the next day but the others were still prisoners. The operation in Daggar came on the third day of the Army's offensive to roll back the Taliban advance that had caused concern not just in Islamabad – wwhhiicchh iiss jjuusstt 6655 miillees m s aawwaayy – bbuutt aallssoo iinn WaWashshiningtgtonon.. Majo Majorr Gene Generarall Atha Atharr Abba Abbas,s, aa mmiilliittaarryy ssppookkeessmmaann,, ttoolldd rreeppoorrtteerrss iinn Rawalpindi that the Army and Frontier Corps paramilitary units launched the operation in BBuunneerr ddiissttrriicctt,, bbuuiillddiinngg oonn a sseevveerraall--ddaayy ooffffeennssiivvee iinn tthhee rreeggiioonn.. Abbbbaas A s ssaaiidd aann esestitimamatetedd 450 450 to 505000 Taliliba Ta bann are are bebelilieveveded active in Buner, many believed to be engaged

in "criminal activities." TThhee UUSS hhadad bbeeeenn rrepepeaeattededlyly pres pressisingng tthehe PaPakiskistatann gogovevernrnmementnt to take take acactitionon,, fear fearfufull

ggrroouunndtthhatat tthhed e aannd mmiillitd itan mmiigghhtanttss t weerre w eevveenen ggaain uusseinineing gBuunneer B ttoooor muucchh m aass aa bridgehead for an attack on the capital city. On May 2, another 10 soldiers were captured in Buner. The military confirmed that some 87 militants and four soldiers had been killed in fighting in the district between April 28 and May 4. The military also stated that its troops were confronted during the fighting with wave atattatackckss of suic suicididee car- car-bobombmberers.s. At leas leastt 27 suicide bombers were killed in the fighting. By May 5, troops started to push back the Taliban militants in Buner. Main Operation Activities:

On May 5, the third phase of the operation ststarartetedd as trtroooopsps stor stormemedd the the mililita mi tantnt-h-heleldd valley of Swat. The name of this sub-operation of Black Thunderstorm has been referred to as OperaOperationtion Rah-eRah-e-Rast -Rast in Urdu . In more tthhanan a mmoonntthh ooff ffiigghhttiinngg,, bbyy JJuunnee 1155,, 110066 ssoollddiieerrss aanndd 11,,004400 miilliittaanntts m s weerre w e kkiilllleedd..

Militant fighters were holed up in the emerald mines and in the main town of , MMiinnggoorraa.. TThhee mmiinneess weerre w e sseeccuurreedd bbyy tthhee Army by May 7, but the militants were still holding their positions in Mingora and on a ssttrraatteeggiicc hhiillllttoopp oovveerrllooookkiinngg tthhee ttoowwnn.. Meanwhile, on May 7, in Lower Dir, which was previously declared clear of the Taliban by the military, militants overran a paramilitary fort kkiilllliinngg tthhrreeee ppaarraammiilliittaarryy ssoollddiieerrss aanndd capturing 10 policemen. On May 10, troops

atatttacBaBababaackeked ind Shan Sh a anglTalilibban Taglaa andist di stri ttrarainrictct,inin,ing whwhicg ich cacamhmp isp just ju atst BBan east eaanaistai from Swat. In the fighting at Banai Baba the military reported killing 150 militants for the loss of two soldiers. At the same time as the fifighghtitingng in Shan Shanglgla,a, some some spor sporadadicic fifighghtitingng was still continuing in Lower Dir where, over ffouourr ddayayss,, 101099 morre mo e mmililititanantsts were were killlleedd.. ki Also, further west, in the Mohmand agency, a ggrorouupp of 330000 mililit m itananttss atta attackckeedd a mililit m itararyy oouuttppoosstt,, iinn tthhee ffiigghhttiinngg tthhaatt eennssuueedd 2266 mimililittanantsts were were killlled ki ed and and 1144 sold soldieiersrs werree we wounded. On May 12, Pakistani commandos were inserted by helicopters into the Piochar area, a rear-support base for the militants, in tthhee nnoorrtthheerrnn ppaarrtt ooff tthhee SSwwaatt vvaalllleeyy ttoo

conduct search-and-destroy operations. By May 15, the Army claimed that Buner was fifinanallylly comp compleletetelyly clcleaeareredd of Talib Talibanan foforcrceses,,

hohowepositionsweveverr inarti ar tillllertheery hillsy bomb bo wasmbarardm stilldmen entongoing.t of Taliliba Ta Andbann it was reported that the Taliban were more dug in and in larger numbers in Buner than the military previously assumed. Meanwhile, the Pakistani military continued with their push up the Swat valley. As the military approached MiMinngogorra,a, the the TaTallibibanan wer weree ddigiggginingg in foforr aa "b"bloloododyy urba urbann batt battlele"" again againstst the the Paki Pakiststananii ararmymy in a hottly ho ly ddisispuputetedd cicityty in the the nnorortth-h- wweesstteerrnn ppaarrtt ooff tthhee ccoouunnttrryy.. TThhee TTaalliibbaann bbeeggaann ccoonncceennttrraattiinngg ffoorrcceess iinn Miinnggoorra M a -- ddigiggginingg ttrrenenchcheses,, layi layinngg mimineness and and ttakakiningg positions on rooftops. Stratfor, a private firm that describes itself as a gglolobbalal iintntelelliligegencncee cocompmpanany,y, mementntioionneded that it is not clear if the Pakistani military is ttrraaiinneedd aanndd eevveenn eeqquuiippppeedd ttoo ggoo iinnttoo aa ssiittuuaattiioonn lliikkee tthhaatt,, aaddddiinngg tthhaatt eevveenn tthhee UnUnititeded State Statess milit militararyy "w"wououldld have have to thin thinkk ttwwiiccee"" aabboouutt ssuucchh aann ooffffeennssiivvee.. PPakakiissttananii mmiilliittaarryy ssppookkeessmmaann MMaajjoorr Geenneerraal G l Atthhaarr A Abbas, who is the spokesman for Pakistan's

ararmymy sasaidid the the mimililitataryry inte intendndss to driv drivee thee th Taliban out of the contested area, even if the kind of fighting resembles that of the Battle of Stalingrad. He said that the whole resolve of the government and the military is to once and for all finish the Taliban from the Swat valley. The army has about 15,000 troops on the ground and is estimated that there are still over 5,000 Taliban fighters in the area. On May 17, heavy street fighting started in the towns of Kanju and Matta and the Army was slowly advancing towards Mingora. Also, a few days later fighting started in the area of tthhee TTakakhhttababaanndd bbrrididggee ffoorr ccoonnttrrooll ooff tthhiiss crocrossissingng point point.. OOnn MMaayy 2200,, a kkeeyy ttoowwnn iinn Buner was captured by the Army. The Army ccaappttuurreedd SSuullttaannwwaass iinn ffiigghhttiinngg wwhhiicchh,, acaccocordrdiningg to the the mimililitataryry,, kikilllleded one one sold soldieierr and 80 militants, another nine soldiers were wounded.[30] By May 23, Kanju, Matta and the Takhtaband bridge had been secured by the mmiillititararyy,, bbuutt ffiigghhttiinngg waas w s ssttiillll ggooiinngg oonn iinn TTaakkhhttaabbaanndd iittsseellff aanndd tthhee Buunneer B r aanndd Diirr D ddisisttrricicttss,, wwhheerree nniinnee mmoorree miililittaanntts m s weerree w kkiilllleedd.. Meeaannw M whhiillee,, tthhee miilliittaarry m y waass w ssururrorouundndiningg the the mamainin mmililititanantt bbasasee in ththee Peochar Valley.

Battle for Mingora:

On May 23, the battle for the capital of

SwSwatwawassat, , hhea eavyMing Mivyngor ora,and ana,d star stit arte was wated.d.s stre stThe Threeteet-t stre st-to-reeto-stetstrereet fifigghtethtin aandinggnd hahandnd-t-to-ho-hanand.d. Figh Fightetersrs had dug dug them themseselvelvess into bunkers built into hotels and government bbuuiillddiinnggss.. On On tthhee ffiirrsstt ddaayy ooff tthhee bbaattttllee,, fighting was mainly in the center of the city, aatt tthhee cceennttrraall bbuuss tteerrmmininaall aanndd aalolonngg tthhee main road near the city's primary gateway. By ththee nenextxt day, day, the the mililita mi taryry capt capturureded seve severarall inintetersrsecectitiononss and and ththrereee sqsquauareres,s, ininclclududiningg GGrreeeenn SSqquuaarree,, wwhhiicchh hhaadd bbeeeenn kknnoowwnn aass "B"Bloloododyy InIntetersrsecectitionon",", beca becaususee the the Taliliba Ta bann wweerree dduummppiinngg bbooddiieess ooff ppeeooppllee whho w o tthheeyy executed at that location. Intense fighting was gogoiningg on in ththee Nawa Nawa KiKilalayy neig neighbhbouourhrhoooodd

and the western suburb of Qambar. BByy Maay M y 2277,, tthhee miillit m itararyy ttooookk ccoonnttrrooll ooff 7700 percent of the city, including the city's airport, aanndd TTaalliibbaann ffoorrcceess aaccrroossss SSwwaatt wweerree iinn reretrtreaeat,t, bubutt fifighghtitingng was was ststililll cont contininuiuingng.. At the same time, in continuing battles in Lower DDirir aanndd SShhananggllaa,, tthhrreeee moorre m e ssoollddiieerrss aanndd eight militants were killed.

On May 29, the Army cleared Aman Kot and tthhee TTeecchhnniiccaall IInnssttiittuuttee Coolllleegge C e oonn tthhee MMiinnggoorraa--KKookkaarraaii rrooaadd iinn Miinnggoorraa. M . On On tthhee ssaammee ddaayy,, tthhee vviillllaaggee ooff PPeeoocchhaarr iinn tthhee Peochar Valley, as well as the town of Bahrain in the north of Swat, had been taken by the military. On May 30, the Pakistani military had taken bbacackk the the cicittyy of Ming Mingororaa frfromom the the TTalalibibanan,, calling it a significant victory in its offensive against the Taliban. However, some sporadic ffigighhttiningg was was ssttiillll connttiinnuuiinng co g oonn tthhee cciittyy''ss oouuttsskkiirrttss.. AAllssoo,, ssppoorraaddiicc ffiigghhttiinngg wwaass ccoonnttiinnuuiinngg iinn tthhee rreesstt ooff SSwwaatt aanndd iinn tthhee Shangla district where on June 2, two soldiers and five militants were killed. In the battle for Mingora 286 militants were killed. Alleged capture of Sufi Muhammad and other leaders:

OOnn JJuunnee 44,, iitt wwaass rreeppoorrtteedd tthhaatt SSuuffii Muhammad, the founder of Tehreek-e-Nafaz- ee--SShhaarriiaatt--ee--MMoohhaammmmaaddii oorr TTNNSSMM,, waass w aarrrreesstteedd iinn Am Amaannddaarrrraa aalloonngg wiitth w h ootthheerr militant leaders. In the coming days there was

coconfnfususioionn over over ththisis clai claimm sinc sincee the the Taliliba Ta bann tthheemmsseellvveess ssaaiidd tthhaatt MMuuhhaammmmaadd waass w missing. However, several days later it was confirmed that Muhammad was not captured and was in hiding, while two of his aides were ccaappttuurreedd bbyy tthhee AArrmmyy.. TThhoossee ttwwoo aaiiddeess,, MuMuhahammmmadad MauMaulanlanaa Alam Alam and and AmAmeeeerr IzIzzazatt Khan, were killed when militants attacked the prison transport they were in on June 7. On 26 JJuullyy 22000099,, tthhee ggoovveerrnnmmeenntt ccoonnffiirrmmeedd tthhee ararrresestt of Suffi Su i Mohham Mo ammmadad for for eencncouourragaginingg

violence and terrorism.

Casualties:

IInn aallll,, aaccccoorrddiinngg ttoo tthhee miilliittaarryy, m , 112288 ssololddieiersrs and and at leas leastt 1,4475 1, 75 mililit m itanantsts wwereree kikilllleded and and 331717 sold soldieierrss were were woun woundededd,, 9955 soldiers and policemen were captured by the militants, 18 of them were rescued while the fafatete of the the othe othersrs rema remainineded unde undetetermrminineded.. 114 militants were captured, including some lolocacall comm commanandedersrs.. Furt Furthehermrmorore,e, a team team of SSppeecciiaall SSeerrvviicceess Grroouup G p ccoommmmaannddooss waass w

enengagagegedd to comp compleletete this this dead deadlyly oper operatatioion.n.

AAtt lleeaasstt 2233 ooff tthhee miilliittaanntts m s kkiilllleedd weerree w foreigners.

Foreign Involvement and Aftermath:

coconfnfirPaPakisirmemedkistatan'd n'sthat thsat fofore ther threigereignen was waoffifice of sce a spoke spheav heokesmavyysman inflflux inanux hadd ha of ffoorreeiiggnneerrss aaiiddiinngg tthhee TTaalliibbaann aanndd tthhaatt wweeaappoonnss wweerree ccoommiinngg ffrroomm tthhee aaddjjaacceenntt ccoouunnttrryy ooff Affgghhaanniissttaann. A . Maanny M y PPaakkiissttaannii dedefefencncee anal analysyststs and and expe expertrtss had had publ publiciclyly acaccucusesedd Indi India,a, Afgh Afghananisistatan,n, Turk Turkmemeniniststanan,, UUzzbbeekkiissttaann aanndd TTaajjiikkiissttaann,, ooff aaiiddiinngg tthhee TTalalibibanan to dest destabiabililizeze Pakis Pakistatan.n. On MaMayy 1919,, 22000099,, tthhee PPaakkiissttaann Arrm A myy ccaappttuurreedd tthhrreeee ffoorreeiiggnn ffiigghhtteerrss ffrroomm MMiinnggoorraa DDiissttrriicctt.. AcAccocorrdidingng to tthehe PaPakikiststananii Arm Army,y, all all thes thesee foforereigignn fifigghthtererss were were LiLibybyanan nati nationonalalss.. Thee Th PPaakkiissttaannii Arrm A myy aallssoo ccaappttuurreedd ffiivvee SSaauuddii nationals during the search operation.

In Khybar Pass, a police raid on a local house

resulted in the arrest of 20 Tajik nationals. In heavy fighting in , Pakistani commandos killed five Uzbek fighters. Many PaPakikisstatannii ppololititicicalal ppararttieies,s, such such as PML- PML-N,N, acaccucusesedd IIndndiaia,, of prov provididiningg econ economomicic anandd financial support to the Taliban. According to a WWhhiittee hhoouussee pprreessss rreelleeaassee,, tthhee UUnniitteedd States and NATO were working with Pakistan ttoo ffiinndd oouutt whhoo''s w s pprroovviiddiinngg tthhee ffiinnaanncciiaall support and what routes were they using to smuggle the weapons. According to the Daily

Jang'sAfghan investigative National Army's report, weapons a large wasamount stolen of by the Taliban, and also the report claimed tthhaatt tthheerree iiss nnoo ffoorrmmaall sseeccuurriittyy ffoorr tthheeiirr weapons depos. Daily Jang also cited that a large number of Uzbeks and Tajiks were freely crossing Afghanistan's border into Pakistan to fight against Pakistan. ParParliamliamententariaariann KhaKhawajwajaa Muhamm Muhammadad Asif Asif of PPMMLL--NN hheelldd a pprreessss ccoonnffeerreennccee iinn tthhee ParParliliamamenentt medi mediaa loun loungege,, wher wheree he warn warneded Afghan President Hamid Karzai. He said that "Karzai became President with the support of PPaakkiissttaann"".. He He aallssoo waarrnneed w d hhiimm tthhaatt AfAfghghananisistatann shshououldld not not play play wiwithth PaPakikiststanan's's sseeccuurriittyy.. AAfftteerr tthhee ccoonnvviinncciinngg eevviiddeennccee,,

Pakistan, along with United States and NATO, ffouounndd out out ththee sisigngnifificicanantt rrououtteses tthahatt wwereree using to supply heavy weaponry to . Pakistan blocked the routes successfully. On MMaayy 2200,, iinn KKhhyybbeerr PPaassss,, PPaakkiissttaannii SSSSGG CoCommmmanandodoss conf confrorontnteded a larg largee nunumbmbererss of foforereigignn fifighghtetersrs and and Taliliba Ta ban.n. Afte Afterr a heav heavyy ffiigghhttiinngg,, PPaakkiissttaannii CCoommmmaannddooss kkiilllleedd aa nnuummbbeerr ooff TTaalliibbaann aanndd ffoorreeiiggnn ffiigghhtteerrss,, vavaririououss repo reportrtss stat stateded ththatat foforereigignn fifigghthtererss wewerere Uzbbek Uz ek and and TTajajikik nnatatioionnalals.s. PPakakisistatannii

weweapCommandosapononryry in alsoa truc tr recovereduck.k. PaPakikist stana anilargei comm co amountmmanandodoss of were also able to secure NATO's supply trucks that were targeted by the Taliban. Aftermath The Taliban suffered many losses and lost key territories in Swat.