The news of the success came via Pakistani security officials and is seen as a major setback for the Taliban given Kotkai is home to top Taliban leader Hakimullah Mehsud. The army added that 100,000 civilians have fled the conflict zone.
The reports could not be verified as journalists have been denied access to the war-torn region.
The capture of Kotkai comes after a week of seesawing fortunes for the military. Earlier in the week it had been reported that Pakistani troops - backed by artillery, helicopters and fighter jets - had briefly taken control of Kotkai.
By Tuesday morning they were once again on the defensive as local officials reported a Taliban counter attack that saw army checkpoints destroyed and seven soldiers dead.
After the latest development, fighting is expected to move into more mountainous terrain as the army attempts to gain further successes by pushing into militant strongholds.
Pakistan's New Threat
Recent events however highlight how certain apparatus outside the control of the military are perpetuating a more dangerous conflict. If the last fortnight is anything to go by then today’s success may be a drop in the ocean as regards to the wider demographic.
After the 22-hour gun battle and siege at the army headquarters in Rawalpindi on October 11 ended with the deaths of eleven soldiers, three civilians and nine militants, Pakistan’s Interior Minister gave a frank admission of the desperate task facing the Pakistani forces.
Rehman Malik said a nexus of Punjabi, al-Qaida and Taliban militants, which includes Pakistani soldiers, are precipitating increasingly coordinated and widespread attacks.
The following week, militants brought a day of carnage to the cultural hotbed of Lahore and a week later attacked Islamabad’s International Islamic University killing three women students and injuring dozens of others.
Islamabad-Washington Relations
The capture of a Taliban stronghold does little to mask the pressure facing the current administration in the wake of criticism following the signing of a $7.5 billion aid package from the United States. Detractors see the aid as further evidence of American interference in domestic affairs.
A further development saw U.S. lawmakers pass a Pentagon spending bill which sets tough restrictions on military aid. Among the conditions is a tracking of any military hardware given to Pakistan and stipulation that none of the resources provided are to be used against neighbouring India.
The U.S. reasoning behind the conditions attached were provided by the bill's authors, Democrat Robert Menendez and Republican Bob Corker, who said the bill was in part designed to ensure aid was used to fight the U.S. "war on terrorism" and not elsewhere.
The news comes as a U.S. drone missile strike targeting a Taliban commander's house in the tribal region of Bajaur killed thirteen people. Officials confirmed that the strike had hit the house of Maulvi Faqir in Damadola village.
Pakistan's Biggest Challenge
With the Lahore attacks aimed at the Elite Police Academy after the incursion on the Army headquarters, militant forces are taking the fight to Pakistan’s institutions.
It’s become a case of biting the hand that feeds you, as the Taliban who are widely acknowledged as, a military creation under General Zia attacks its former paymasters.
The North West city of Peshawar is the latest to fall victim to the chaos, with 91 people reported to have been killed as a result of a large car bomb in a busy market. The attack coincided with the visit of U.S. Secretary of State Hilary Clinton to the capital, Islamabad.
It is yet another stark reminder that the Pakistan Army may have won a small battle but eradicating the widespread chaos that has become a hallmark of Pakistan’s recent existence remains the biggest challenge.
Sources
BBC News Website, www.bbc.co.uk, Pakistan 'take key Taliban town', October 24th 2009
Al Jazeera in English News Channel
www.dawn.com, US Congress approves new restrictions on military aid, October 23th 2009
 |
