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The Operation Rah-e-Nijat ((英語:''Path to Salvation''); Urdu: آپریشن راہ نجات) was a strategic offensive military operation by the unified command of Pakistan Armed Forces against the Tehrik-i-Taliban (TTP) and their extremist allies in the South Waziristan area of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas that began on June 19, 2009; a major ground-naval-air offensive was subsequently launched on October 17. It became the integral part of the war in Western fronts which led the encirclement and destruction of Taliban forces in the region, although the Taliban leadership escaped to lawless areas of neighboring Afghanistan. The operation was aimed to finish the senior Taliban leadership and bring the lawless areas back to government control, however the leadership escaped to Afghanistan whilst areas came back under the Pakistan government control. Planning for the Operation became on June 16, 2009 after successfully commencing previous offense, the operation ''Rah-e-Ra'ast'', and had applied a successful blockade of the region that prevented the Taliban forces to gain external support. On October 2, 2009, the preparation for such operation were made after a top civic-military meeting took place in the Islamabad which led the revival and starting of Navy's reconnaissance and surveillance air operations to monitor the troop rotations of Taliban forces. On October 19, the ground offense was launched when military personnel from XI Corps, along with the airborne forces who were assisted by the joint special forces, entered in the three-month-long blockade area of South Waziristan. The PAF pounded the hidden and suspected mountainous regions, relying on Navy's intelligence, while the Army marched deeper into Taliban-controlled territory. The joint-military forces entered and advanced in the region from three directions—Razmak in the north, Jandola in the east and Shakai in the west. The forces furthered advanced in the habitat towns of Makeen, Spinkai, Raghzai and Tiarz; initially focusing on taking the town of Kotkai which served as the command and control center for enemy combatant forces. On 24 October, The breakthrough and major achievement came to notice when the military announced the successful retake and the control of the town of Kotkai after a heavy fighting. On 29 October, the military occupied the town of Kaniguram, a strong of former Russians fighters and Uzbeks controlled Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan. On December 12, the military announced the success of the operation and took the control of the entire South Waziristan into government control. The human cost and casualties for Taliban forces were extremely high, roughly losing thousands of fighters as compared to the military forces; the senior Taliban leadership abandoned their posts and escaped to neighboring Afghanistan before they could be apprehended or killed in the actions. ==Blockade of South Waziristan== On June 16, 2009, in the aftermath of the successful victory and recapture of the entire Swat valley, the Pakistan Army began a massive troop build-up along the southern and eastern borders of South Waziristan. Pakistan was now taking the fight to Tehrik-i-Taliban chief Baitullah Mehsud's mountainous stronghold, ordering an expansion of its current offensive against Taliban fighters in the Swat valley. On Sunday night, denouncing Mehsud as "the root cause of all evils," Owais Ghani, the governor of the North-West Frontier Province, said the government has called on the army to launch a "full-fledged" military operation to eliminate Mehsud and his estimated 20,000 men. The crucial battle may prove to be the most difficult that Pakistan's military has faced on its soil in recent years. Islamabad's decision to launch the offensive against Mehsud signals a deepening of Pakistani resolve against the militants. The army has targeted the Taliban leader on three separate occasions—in 2004, 2005 and 2008—but walked away each time after signing ruinous "peace deals" that have only served to embolden Mehsud. But the military appears more determined this time. It also enjoys the backing of the general citizenry as public support of the military has increased dramatically as the recent wave of terrorist attacks has heightened revulsion against the Taliban. By June 21, 2009, at least 46 militants were killed in the South Waziristan tribal region and the Malakand division. Six soldiers, including an Army officer, were killed and 17 soldiers injured in fighting in the Malakand and South Waziristan Agency within a 24-hour period. Another six militants were apprehended, the military said. These were the first known casualties among Baitullah Mehsud's fighters in a new offensive in South Waziristan, where al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden and his other top commanders and Taliban leaders were believed to be holed up. On June 28, eight militants were killed in Swat and 10 in Waziristan, in operations that destroyed the militants’ command network and led to the seizure of “a huge amount” of arms and ammunition, army spokesman Major General Athar Abbas told reporters. Sixteen soldiers were killed in action, twelve of them dying near the Afghan border in the North Waziristan tribal area when their convoy was ambushed. Several vehicles were hit in the ambush and another 10 soldiers were seriously wounded. On June 30, militants ambushed a Pakistani military convoy near the Afghan border, killing a further 12 Pakistani soldiers. Several vehicles were hit and the military said 12 soldiers were killed and 10 seriously wounded.〔 On July 3, a military transport helicopter of the Pakistan Army went down and crashed on the border between Khyber and Orakzai tribal region on Friday afternoon, killing all 26 soldiers on board. The helicopter crashed because of a technical fault. On August 5, the CIA carried out a drone strike on Baitullah Mehsud and his family. Mehsud was killed, along with his father-in-law and his wife. The operation in South Waziristan was already in planning process.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=The Frontier Post )〕 Two divisions of military were deployed and negotiations with the tribes and minor groups of militants were being conducted to isolate the enemy.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Operation Rah-e-Nijat」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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