Source: Asia Times:
Incoming General Raheel Sharif rightly has some weighty expectations to bear; he has to reverse the decline overseen by his predecessors and improve the security situation of the country, all while restoring the prestige of the army.
Raheel has had the advantage of holding a clean slate. Having served as the inspectorate of training and evaluation for the Pakistan army in his last position, he was perceived as having relatively clean hands as far as the fighting in the tribal areas is concerned.
However, all of that has been put into jeopardy with the commencement of the fighting in North Waziristan this week following a suicide attack in Khajuri which killed 20 Pakistani troops. Provocations such as this were always likely given that America has been pushing for such a military operation for over two years now. In ominous military action that has followed, eyewitnesses have alleged that scores of men, women, and children have either been directly targeted or killed as a result of indiscriminate shelling ordered by local commanders.
Categories: Asia