Pakistan Army Chief: No Joint Operations Against North Waziristan

Says Offensive May Come at Time of Military's Choosing

US claims that Pakistan is planning to launch an invasion of North Waziristan Agency soon appear to be inaccurate, and Pakistan’s Chief of Army Staff Gen. Parvez Kayani denied reports that there was an agreement in place to allow the US to “cooperate” in such an attack.

Kayani insisted that any “joint operation” with any foreign troops in the tribal areas were “unacceptable” and that no such deal had ever been discussed, let alone accepted. He said “joint operations” inside Pakistan had always been a “red line” for the military and would remain so.

Gen. Kayani didn’t deny that a military offensive might happen at some point, but insisted that it would be “in the timeframe of its own choosing,” reiterating a position taken by Pakistan for the past several years over the offensive.

The US has been demanding a Pakistani invasion of North Waziristan for years, but after similar US mandated offensives elsewhere in the tribal areas fell flat they have been reluctant to start a costly new operation using the same failed strategy.

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.