The War in Pakistan

The war in Pakistan rages between the government's armed forces and Islamic militants and began in 2004 when a search for al-Qaeda operatives in the mountainous area of Waziristan met with armed resistance. Since then tensions have increased and armed conflict expanded to include local rebels and other pro-Taliban armed fighters.

Previous to the war, there were attempts on President Pervez Musharraf's life in the year 2003, which accounts for increase army presence and pressure that added incentive of the War on Terror and led to the armed conflicts.

Three truces were signed in the years 2004, 2005, and 2006, but none were helpful in reducing the amount of bloodshed, and none of the three truces ever lasted long. The first treaty was signed with Nek Muhammad Wazir, but immediately aborted when the Taliban commander was killed by an American Hellfire missile. The second treaty was signed in February of 2005 for South Waziristan and in September 2006 for South Waziristan, but both treaties were dissolved in August 2007 with the Lal Masjid siege which increased the number of suicide attacks on all of Pakistan ten-fold.

For nearly a month in the year 2007, the President of Pakistan declared a nation-wide state of emergency, temporarily suspending the constitution of the country. Shortly after this time, Benazir Bhutto, leading politician in the opposing Pakistani political party, was assassinated after leaving a political rally. Following Bhutto's assassination, there were outbreaks of violence nation-wide aimed at the sitting President and his party. The violence left 58 people dead, including four police officers.

In 2009, Pakistan agreed to impose a lighter version of Sharia law in exchange for a peace treaty for the Swat Valley, an area that is not only beautiful, but strategic. Swat is 80 miles away from the capital of Pakistan, Islamabad, and provides a corridor from the Afghan border to the disputed region of Kashmir. The US was concerned that this valley would become a safe-haven and breeding ground for militants. Modified though the Sharia law was supposed to be, the Taliban was found in violation of the treaty when video was released of officials publicly whipping a 17-year-old girl accused of adultery.

The war continues on with no clear end in sight.

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