The ‘War on Terror’ in the Pakistani arena has registered an upturn in scale and intensity since April this year, coinciding with President Obama’s new ‘Af-Pak policy’. This is manifest in the Swat operation, ending the peace agreement with the local cleric Sufi Muhammad, and an active military engagement in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), particularly South Waziristan. The most pronounced and visible objective of the operation is to establish the writ of the state in the areas overwhelmed by Talibanization of sorts. The upturn in military engagement has caused massive displacement of population bringing to the fore complex human dimensions and desperate country-wide militant reaction, particularly by way of suicide attacks that threaten infrastructure and generate fear amongst the masses. The factors also impact on the wider political landscape of the country and its relations with the US.
The ‘War on Terror’ in the Pakistani arena has registered an upturn in scale and intensity since April this year, coinciding with President Obama’s new ‘Af-Pak policy’.