Success of Operation Zarb e Azab

Pakistan is among those countries who fought valiantly to eradicate terrorism and extremism from its soil. The country has been paying huge price for bringing peace and stability in the region in particular and world in general. Since the start of war against terror after terrorist attacks on world trade centre in 2001, Pakistani armed forces are fighting with non-state actors. The country has lost almost 70,000 people including officers of armed forces and other law enforcement agencies in the war against terrorism. Pakistan government and armed forces left no stone unturned to bring peace in the country. Despite the huge sacrifices, some anti-state elements kept maligning Pakistani agencies and government for not acting properly against the non-state actors. Though, Pakistan vehemently denied international accusations, but this is really very disturbing when a few states, foreign their personal interests, ignore other country and its sacrifices. 

From General (R) Pervez Musharraf to incumbent Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa, Pakistan Army is determined to indiscriminately fight against the terrorists. The Generals of Pakistan Army are carrying the legacy of their predecessors when it comes to the eradicate extremism and terrorism. Ex-COAS General Ashfaq Pervez Kiyyani started Operation Rah e Rast in May 2009 against the Taliban. Pakistan Army successfully eradicated terrorists from the city. With the efforts of Pakistan Army, Swat became safest city. Before the operation Rah e Rast, Taliban were attacking people and looting their shops. They wanted to implement Islamic laws in the city. But, Pakistan Army defeated them and reinstated writ of the state in the city. 

 

After the retirement of General Ashfaq Pervez Kiyyani, General Raheel Sharif took baton of command and became new boss of Pakistan Army. With his personality cults and power to take decisions, General Raheel Sharif got special place in the hearts of Pakistani people. Even international community acknowledges his contribution in war against terrorism. When General Raheel took charge as COAS, he inherited severe security challenges especially in Karachi and tribal areas of Pakistan. He faced existential threats of Pakistan Army in tribal areas. He then decided to move ahead and started operation Zarb e Azab. 

 

 

The operation was launched on 15 June 2014 in North Waziristan along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border as a renewed effort against militancy in the wake of the 8 June attack on Jinnah International Airport in Karachi, for which the TTP and the IMU claimed responsibility. As of 14 July 2014, the operation internally displaced about 929,859 people belonging to 80,302 families from North Waziristan. The sole purpose of Operation Zarb e Azab was to bring back normalcy in the country and wipe out sleepers cell of terrorists and their facilitators. 

 

Part of the war in North-West Pakistan, up to 30,000 Pakistani soldiers participated in the operation which was described as a comprehensive operation to flush out all foreign and local militants hiding in North Waziristan. The operation has received landmark support from the Pakistani political, defence and civilian sectors. As a consequence, the overall security situation improved and terrorist attacks in Pakistan dropped to a six-year low since 2008. Zarb -e-Azb was followed by Operation Radd-ul-Fasaad which began in February 2017, following a resurgence in terrorist incidents.

 

With the ruthless actions of Pakistani forces against terrorists, the backbone of terror groups were broken and their structure was dismantled. In addition to this, nexus with sleeper cells largely disrupted. Intelligence based Operations (IBOs) busted remaining sleeper cells. 3,400 terrorists were killed, with 837 hideouts from where they were carrying out terrorist activities destroyed. During the last 18 months over 13,200 IBOs carried out across the country in which 183 terrorists were killed, 2,193 arrested. IBOs continue.

 

 

All major political parties of Pakistan came on the same page and backed Pakistan Army unanimously. Apart from the endorsement domestically, major international countries and organizations also supported the operation and termed it historical phase in the elimination of terrorism from the country’s soil. On 5 November 2014, Lt. Gen. Joseph Anderson, a senior commander for US and NATO forces in Afghanistan, said in a Pentagon-hosted video briefing from Afghanistan that the Haqqani network is now fractured like the Taliban. “They are fractured. They are fractured like the Taliban is. That's based pretty much on the Pakistan's operations in North Waziristan this entire summer-fall,” he said, acknowledging the effectiveness of Pakistan's military offensive. "That has very much disrupted their efforts in Afghanistan and has caused them to be less effective in terms of their ability to pull off an attack in Kabul," Anderson added. 

 

The Global terrorism index (GTI) 2015, complied by the international research group the Institute for Economics and Peace, analyses impact of terrorism on global community. The report conceded success of Zarb-e-Azb and stated “Pakistan was the only country in the ten most impacted countries that saw a decline in deaths and accordingly it dropped from third to fourth.” Over 4,000 square kilometers of land in North Waziristan, including the most treacherous and rugged terrain of Shawal, has been cleared of terrorists, which included 900 terrorists of proscribed militant organization Lashkar-e-Islam. 

 

Pakistan Army also seized around 243 tons of explosives, enough to make IEDs (Improvised Explosive Devices) for 17 years, shut down 7,500 bomb factories, and a total of 3500 terrorists were killed, wiped out 992 safe havens and sanctuaries of terrorists. Pakistan’s 4900 soldiers including 17 officers embraced sacred status of martyrdom, and over 2000 valiant Ghazis wounded during the past two years.