Small Wars Journal

25 April Afghanistan / Pakistan Update

Sat, 04/25/2009 - 7:38am
Petraeus Calls On Pakistan To Redirect Military Focus - Ann Scott Tyson, Washington Post. Gen. David H. Petraeus warned yesterday that al-Qaeda and Taliban extremists in Pakistan are posing "an ever more serious threat to Pakistan's very existence," and he said that Pakistan's leaders must act to counter the challenge with a well-trained military counterinsurgency force.

Some Taliban Retreat as Pakistan Troops Advance - Zahid Hussain and Matthew Rosenberg, Wall Street Journal. Pakistan's military chief dispatched army troops to the Buner district seized by the Taliban and gave the insurgents 24 hours to pull out, warning they would not be allowed to "impose their way of life" on the nation. Some Taliban were seen withdrawing Friday, piling into pickup trucks and minibuses with their assault weapons and rocket-propelled grenades in video broadcast by Pakistani news stations.

Taliban Shift Forces, but Hold Pakistan Valley - Carlotta Gall and Dexter Filkens, New York Times. The chief of Pakistan's Army, Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, on Friday defended his army's performance and said it was committed to fighting militancy, in the face of growing criticism from American officials and Pakistani politicians that the military has failed to halt the Taliban insurgency as it creeps toward Islamabad, the capital.