US and Pakistan Honor Guards at the turnover ceremony of the last US MASH to Pakistan, in Muzaffarabad, Feb 16, 2006. Photo Credit: Travlr

Pakistani security forces reportedly killed at least 30 militants on Thursday in clashes following an attack on a military checkpost in the troubled northwest Mohmand tribal region, Reuters reported today. The killings come just two days after the military announced it had cleared Taliban and al-Qaeda fighters in the neighbouring Bajaur agency.

Around 200 militants armed with rockets and automatic weapons launched an attack in the Chamarkand area near the Afghan border, killing one soldier and wounding four in the overnight gunbattle, reported The Associated Press.

According to a BBC reporter in Islamabad, the attack is believed to have been launched by militants who fled Damadola in the Bajaur agency, after the Pakistan military’s capture of the region on Tuesday, following an 18-month operation.

Despite today’s attack, Pakistani media have largely viewed the military’s Bajaur offensive as a success, evident of the military’s accelerated operations against the Taliban. An editorial in Pakistan daily, The News, commended the army for driving out the insurgents, praising its “willingness to stage a long, hard and often thankless effort to vanquish the Taliban”. The paper went on to highlight the importance of working closely with the Afghans to capture key Taliban figures and emphasized the need for the Pakistani government to do all in its power to rehabilitate the thousands who have been displaced during the combat. Only if the people of Bajaur are “given some sense that they indeed live in a state that cares about them and their future”, the editorial suggested, can a return to conflict be avoided.

Much like The News, a Daily Times‘ editorial echoed the significance of the military’s victory in the Bajaur region, not only in terms of a “morale booster” for the Pakistani army, but also as an “eye-opener” for the international community in conveying the complexity of the Taliban’s survival techniques and defense strategies. The editorial stressed that the military’s efforts will have been futile if the fleeing insurgents are able to regroup in Afghanistan. Pressing on the need for the concerted efforts of Pakistan, US, NATO and the Afghan government, the editorial noted, “If Afghanistan is supporting elements from within the Taliban regime, Pakistan’s ‘doing more’ to curb terrorism is in vain.”

The success of the Bajaur operation is the latest in a series of events that have, to some extent, improved the otherwise apprehensive international view of the Pakistani intelligence and military’s commitment in fighting the Taliban. Adding to the credibility of the Pakistani resolve was the arrest in early February of Abdul Ghani Baradar, believed to be the second-in-command after Taliban leader Mullah Omar, in a joint US-Pakistani operation. Baradar’s arrest was welcomed in the Western media, with Steve Coll, writing on The New Yorker’s Think Tank blog, terming it an “unadulterated good news out of Pakistan”  and an editorial in The Wall Street Journal credited the arrest to Pakistan’s “democratic leadership” and to “ordinary Pakistanis who no longer see the fight against the Taliban as America’s business only.”

Another significant event that may underline Pakistan’s willingness in fighting militancy is the arrest on Thursday, reported by Fox News, of a suspected Taliban mastermind, Mohtasim Agha, ranked number seven on the post 9/11 US watch list.

A Daily Times editorial suggested that the tougher offensive against militants has been due to “a heightened sense of reinvigoration for the anti-terrorism cause” following Baradar’s arrest, while an editorial in The Guardian proposed that it’s down to a greater international demand, including from India, that Pakistan crack down on home-grown militants. Other observers have suggested that Pakistan is using its increased offensive to angle for a seat at the table in negotiations on Afghanistan and to preserve its power in the country after the fighting there stops.

Pakistan’s stepped-up effort is tentatively easing tensions between itself and the US. America has consistently criticized Pakistan’s anti-terrorism efforts and accused the country of being hesitant in its offensive because its own intelligence harbours sympathy and support for the Taliban. David Ignatius, op-ed columnist for The Washington Post, wrote today that “it’s wise to approach recent talk about a new strategic breakthrough with some caution and skepticism,” but acknowledged that things are trending positively now.