War in North-West Pakistan

The War in North-West Pakistan is an armed conflict between the Pakistan Armed Forces and armed religious groups such as the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Lashkar-e-Islam, TSNM, Arab and Central Asian militants including Al-Qaeda, regional armed movements and elements of organized crime.

The armed conflict began in 2004 when tensions, rooted in the Pakistan Army's search for Al-Qaeda fighters in Pakistan's mountainous Waziristan area (in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas), escalated into armed resistance. Pakistan's actions were presented as its contribution to the international War on Terror. Clashes erupted between Pakistani army troops and Arab and Central Asian militia forces. The foreign militants were joined by Pakistani non-military veterans of the War in Afghanistan which subsequently established the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan and other militia organizations such as Lashkar-e-Islam. The Tehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi (TSNM) established in 1992 allied with the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan and Lashkar-e-Islam.

Background

As aftermath of Battle of Tora Bora, the formal deployment was began by the Pakistan Army, at request of Pakistan Government, in 2002. The XI Corps, under its core-commander Lieutenant-General Ali Jan Orackzaie. The XI Corps entered the Tirah Valley in the Khyber Agency for the first time since Pakistan independence in 1947. The troops were later...
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