A return to Islamabad

A return to Islamabad

The air in Islamabad is clean and fresh. The early morning sun gives the warming hint of a pleasant day ahead. The airport has changed little since my last visit here eight years ago, except for a number of mission statements posted prominently in the termninal promising a "world class" immigration experience. Walking out of the terminal building, there’s a spray of colour and hundreds wait for the relatives who’ve just arrived, carrying a pleasant air of nervous excitement.

On the long straight road which leads from the airport to the heart of the capital, we drive through a number of checkpoints where the police stand, fingering their guns lazily, stopping the odd car. There are big yellow signs apologising for the inconvenience.

Private security guard my hotel with checkpoints some distance from the front door, checking the engine and the trunk while sensors and mirrors scan underneath. Before I'm allowed to enter, my bags are scanned before finally my taxi is allowed past the automatic barrier to climb the short hill to the front door.

I last came to Islamabad in the days after 9/11. This was one of the few places on earth which officially recognised the Taliban regime in neighbouring Afghanistan, and where at the Afghan embassy in a leafy suburb, it was possible to get an idea of the thinking in Kabul as the US and others geared up to attack.

Eight years on, the Taliban is still an issue. This time, the Pakistan army is confronting what it sees as the enemy in its own house. It's launched a much anticipated assault in South Waziristan. Around 28,000 troops backed up by planes, heavy artillery and helicopter gunships are moving against the Pakistan Taliban and its leader Hakimullah Mehsud. It’s thought they are around 10,000 strong.

About 100,000 people, knowing the attack was coming, left the area. They’ve now been given the horrible tag of IDP - internally displaced persons. The world know them as refugees. It’s thought more than 300,000 people have remained. Some would never leave. Others can’t, trapped by the fighting and the massive military operation.

The go for the operation codenamed Rah-i-Nijat, or Path to Deliverance in English, was given on Friday after a series of attacks on police and army bases left more than 170 people dead. The military insisted it was time to take action and the government had political cover, as it could present the assault as striking back at those who'd killed and maimed.

A similar assault was launched in this area last year but was suddenly halted - and an attack in 2004 ended when the army sued for peace.

Initial reports suggest the Taliban are fighting back strongly, and inflicting damages on the army, while suffering losses themselves.

As the army moves in on three sides towards the Taliban leader's headquarters, the fighters will make a stand where they can inflict damage or melt away where they can’t. The Army says this is an eight week operation. It’s perhaps better to say this phase will last eight weeks, the battle could last much longer.