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Pakistan launches operations in Waziristan
19 October 2009
A Pakistani soldier stands guard over refugees who have fled Waziristan arriving at Dera Ismail Khan in Pakistan's North West Frontier Province on 19 October. (PA)
On 17 October, the Pakistani army launched its much-anticipated offensive against the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) in South Waziristan agency, in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA). Operation Rah-e-Nijat (Road to Deliverance) involves around 30,000 soldiers, plus members of the paramilitary Frontier Corps of the North West Frontier Province.
The onset of winter and consequent deterioration in weather conditions will severely hamper the army's mobility in the mountainous terrain, so the offensive will probably involve only limited ground operations and will be difficult to sustain in the medium term.