Pakistani Army is flattening villages with artillery, helicopter gunships and fighter jets in SWAT. Its strange that this type of strategy has been used by a self proclaimed professional army against its own towns and villages. The locals say that the shelling creates anti-government feelings. This is same kind of feelings that fulled growth of Taliban. It appears that militants are fighting more professionally by ambushes and other war crafts which has left Pakistani Army men dead.

The fault lies with Pakistani Army training and intentions. As I have said before, Pakistani Army is not trained to fight a conventional war. Its trained to fight a hybrid war. The strategy is to send the Taliban and Lashkars in advance to engage the Indian Army. Once there is some depletion of Indian Army, then Pakistani Army will cake walk.

This is not what a professional army does. Neither US nor Indian Armies shell entire villages in fight against militants. These two armies have fought the bulk of insurgencies. There have been errors in their fight against ultras, but, its been never a strategy to shell an entire habitat.

Last march a six-month campaign in Bajur and Mohmand districts ended with Pakistani Army razing towns and more than 500,000 people lost or were driven from their homes.

There are claims by Pakistani Military spokesman Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas that the strikes (artillery) were targeting areas where militants were confirmed to be. Pakistani Army is a force with depleted and antiquated weapons when it comes to precision fighting. No respected army would shell a residential area in its own territory. If Pakistani Army knows where the militants are, then the residential area should be cordoned up and taken back. This is what US Army does in Iraq / Afghanistan and India does in J&K. The other reason for shelling would be giving a chance for the militants to clear up from the area with inaccurate fire. Is there a verification authority? Similar bombarding of Pakistani villages did not help last march, did it? The self victory was then proclaimed by Pakistani Army and not verified by anyone.

One thing the world must remember. Pakistani Army id not doing a major favor by fighting the Taliban. The Pakistani Army has denied other forces to come and help fight militancy in SWAT. They have even opposed the highly effective drone strikes. They are responsible for their actions and they are getting paid for it in billions of dollars. Besides its the Pakistani Army / infamous ISI which created these monsters and they are still aiding it. How can an Army aid and fight the same enemy at the same time?

If Pakistani Army continues to flatten villages and towns, US will be spending another wave of billions of dollars to contain the next round of militancy. Pakistan should follow the example of Indian and US armies to preserve the innocent lives.