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Crucifying school children at the altar of Great Power Game
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US drone strike kills six in North Waziristan
A US drone strike killed at least six persons in North Waziristan on Saturday (Dec 20), Pakistani security officials said, warning that the death toll was expected to rise. The strike occurred in North Waziristan, one of the seven semi-autonomous tribal districts bordering Afghanistan.
"A US drone fired two missiles at a compound in Mada Khail neighbourhood of Datta Khail area in North Waziristan killing six persons. The death toll is expected to rise," a senior security official was quoted by The News as saying.
Pakistan's military in mid-June had launched an all-out operation, named Zarb-i-Azb, against the militants in the North Waziristan which is still under way. Moreover, months into Zarb-i-Azb, the army also launched Khyber 1, an operation to clear out militant strongholds in the tribal region of Khyber.
Meanwhile, Pakistan Airforce jets continued indiscriminate attacks on targets in Tirah valley for the third day Saturday. The sorties were carried out in Santana, Nangrosa and Therkho Kas areas — places believed to be strongholds of the Lashkar-i-Islam. Seven of the hideouts were destroyed, officials claimed.
However, Dawn newspaper quoted independent sources as saying that eight civilians — a teenage son, three grandsons and two women of the family of a tribesman, Taj Mohammad Qambarkhel, and two of his Afghan guests — were killed when his house in Therkho Kas was attacked by the planes.
Dec 20th drone attack in Datta Khel was the 22nd strike in Pakistan this year. Eleven of those strikes have taken place in Datta Khel, and four more in the Shawal Valley of North Waziristan, according to Long War Journal.
Taliban claim responsibility for Peshawar School attack
The Taliban have claimed responsibility for the attack on Peshawar´s Warsak Road school which is part of the Army Public Schools and Colleges System, which runs 146 schools nationwide for the children of military personnel and civilians. Its students range in age from around 10 to 18.
Pakistani media reported Taliban spokesman Muhammad Umar Khorasani as saying that his group was responsible for the attack. "Our suicide bombers have entered the school, they have instructions not to harm the children, but to target the army personnel," he said.
"It's a revenge attack for the army offensive in North Waziristan," he said, referring to an anti-Taliban military offensive that began in June this year. “We will target every institution linked to the army unless they stop operations and the extra-judicial killing of our detainees,” he said adding: “Our detainees are being killed and their bodies are thrown on roads.”
More than 1,600 'militants' have been killed since the army launch of Zarb-e-Azb in June this year, according to data compiled by AFP from regular military statements.
Not surprisingly, the military's response to the Taliban attack aerial bombing of 'militant' targets. According to official sources 22 suspected militants were killed when Pakistan Air Force (PAF) jet fighters pounded the hideouts of terrorists in Bara Tehsil of Khyber Agency.
The Peshawar Army School carnage refreshes the memories of another savage attack on a religious school in Bajour in October 2006 killing 82 students. A US drone reportedly launched the devastating strike sparking nationwide protests.
The military operations in Pakistan's tribal territory along the border with Afghanistan continue, at the behest of the United States, behind a smoke screen. It is a no go area for newsmen or independent observers. The only source of casualties is Pakistan army's information bureau known as the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR).
Pakistan is paid by the US for its military operations from the Coalition Support Fund. According to Blumberg News, as of 2013, the U.S. had paid Pakistan $11 billion out of the Pentagon’s coalition support fund budget as reimbursement for Pakistan's military efforts aiding U.S. counterterrorism operations. Pakistan received a $370 million installment from this fund in October last. The US Congress recently extended the Coalition Support Fund for Pakistan for a year. Pakistan will receive $300 million during fiscal year 2015 for its operations in the tribal territories.
The brutal military operation has created a huge humanitarian problem. It displaced three million people from North Waziristan Agency (NWA) after the launch of Operation Zarb-e-Azb on June 15. These people are living in very bad condition. Recently, two IDPs were killed and several others injured in Bannu when police opened fire on the IDPs on ration distribution.
August last, Pakistan Awami Party Senator Afrasiab Khattak raised the specter of East Pakistan debacle while talking about the plight of the tens of thousands of tribesmen displaced by the ongoing military operation in North Waziristan Agency. “Like the people of Bengal [erstwhile East Pakistan], the people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa can also demand a separate state if the government doesn’t pay attention to their needs,” he said while speaking in the Senate.
Ironically, the tragic attack on Peshawar school coincided with the 43rd commemoration of the surrender of Pakistan Army in East Pakistan which became Bangladesh a day later, on December 17, 1971. Over 90,000 Pakistani troops surrendered to the Indian forces backing the Bangali guerrillas who were fighting the Pakistan Army for independence because of political maneuvering, social injustices and economic deprivation by the ruling elite of West Pakistan.
Abdus Sattar Ghazali is the Chief Editor of the Journal of America.
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