Pakistan DM: North Waziristan Likely to Be Attacked Next

Insists Offensive Will Begin After South Waziristan War Ends

Though Pakistan likely has a long way to go in its current war in South Waziristan, they’re already looking forward to another one afterwards. In an interview given earlier today, Pakistani Defense Minister Ahmad Mukhtar said that the military will attack the North Waziristan Agency next.

Mukhtar said he expected the military to declare victory in South Waziristan “soon” and that they would then begin attacking North Waziristan. The defense minister’s predictions of victory are likely to be taken with a grain of salt, as he declared victory in the Swat Valley over a month before fighting began to seriously wind down.

Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mahmoud Qureshi also expressed confidence earlier this week that the South Waziristan offensive was going well, saying that he was hopeful of a mid-December victory.

Minister Mukhtar’s comments aside, it is unthinkable that the Pakistani military would launch an attack on North Waziristan around mid-December, as the region will likely be blanketed with snow by then and travel will be difficult if not impossible.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.