Pushed into quagmire

Meanwhile, Nato has claimed that it conducted an artillery attack inside South Waziristan on Sunday after coordinating with Islamabad. This has, however, been denied by the ISPR which insists that the two sides have no agreement on joint operations. Coordination or no coordination, Pakistan is being pushed into the quagmire against the wishes of its people. With President-elect Obama bent on pursuing the aggressive American policy more vigorously, there would be increasing pressure on Islamabad to do more.
Pakistan has to end the ongoing military operations at the earliest and seek a solution of the issue of militancy mainly through peaceful means as required by the resolution passed unanimously by Parliament. Islamabad has to persuade Washington that recourse to helicopter gunships, tanks and heavy artillery leads to the killing of more innocent people than terrorists who operate from the shadows. COAS General Kiyani, who discussed the issue of drone attacks with the NATO Secretary General in Brussels on Tuesday, rightly observed that only Pakistani forces had the right to take any action against terrorists in our territory.