Decisive battle: edit in Daily Times, March 15, 2015

The military operation against militants in the restive tribal areas seems to have entered the decisive phase as the army and air force jointly continue striking the hideouts of the terrorists. The other day, the Pakistan Air Force fighter jets pounded areas in the Tirah Valley in Khyber Agency and killed 48 militants. The army has stood resolute against the enemy and intensified its offensive against all militant groups without the discrimination of good or bad Taliban in Khyber, North and South Waziristan Agencies. The joint strikes by the army and air force against terrorists in areas bordering Afghanistan are bearing positive results and the militants appear to be on the retreat. The military operation should have been launched much earlier during the stint of General Kiyani but he kept on deferring the operation, declaring it too formidable a task. The intensifying insurgency by the Taliban and incidents of terrorism forced the civil-military leadership to change its perception and start a decisive battle against the militants. Now the army claims that it has broken the back of the terrorists and preparations are being made to send back the internally displaced persons (IDPs) gradually to those areas where peace has been restored. More than a million people left North Waziristan after the military launched Zarb-e-Azb operation in June last year. Along with curbing the threat of militancy, the military is busy enhancing the forces’ capability by acquiring modern counter-terrorism weapons. Among them, the use of drone technology is considered as a very effective method to hit targets precisely with less collateral damage. Pakistan has successfully produced an indigenously made drone called ‘Burraq’ with laser-guided missile ‘Barq’ that is the latest addition to the military’s capability. Drones like Burraq are counter-insurgency weapons. Drone strikes are an alternative to fighting insurgencies on that scale from the ground. With the addition of Burraq, Pakistan can now conduct drone strikes on its own, without help from the US.
No doubt the acquisition of drone technology is a giant leap, but its acquisition is likely to intensify the ongoing arms race between India and Pakistan. India may now embark on acquiring drone technology too. This could further persuade the governments of both countries to divert more and more of their resources towards the acquisition of sophisticated weapons technology in the race to axhieve superiority or at the very least parity with the other. Ultimately, the poor masses of both states will further suffer deprivation because of their respective governments’ wrong sets of priorities. The governments of both neighbouring countries need to focus on changing the fate of their respective poor masses rather than pursuing an ambitious and eventually ruinous arms race. http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/editorial/15-Mar-2015/decisive-battle