Mustafa Qadri

In the Pakistani army’s offensive against the Taliban in South Waziristan, the line between victims and villains remains unclear

Mustafa Qadri
guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 20 October 2009 16.30 BST

The Pakistan army’s invasion of the Taliban stronghold of South Waziristan this week brings few surprises. For years observers in Washington and Brussels have been pressing for an assault on this scale. The army says its aims in Operation Rah-e-Nijat (”Road out of Misery”) are to finally eliminate the main sanctuary for the Taliban and al-Qaida in Pakistan and, according to army chief Ashfaq Pervez Kayani, the foreign and local “elements” that given them succour.

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Thousands Displaced by War in Pakistan

By Mustafa Qadri and Tahir Ali
Displaced villager

“We are ready to leave [Katcha Ghauri] to make room for our brothers from Swat,” says Kushdhil, who was displaced from Bajaur Agency, to the west of the current fighting. Photo: Mustafa Qadri

Last week a number of quiet mountain villages became part of the deadly frontline in Pakistan’s battle with Islamic militancy, report Mustafa Qadri and Tahir Ali…

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Pakistan’s displaced voice fear and anger

13 May 2009 17:10:00 GMT

Written by: Mustafa Qadri

A veteran of the war against the Soviet Union in Afghanistan rues the misfortune of being homeless in his own country.

Mustafa Qadri in Peshawar and Tahir Ali in Rangmala talk to civilians displaced by a Pakistani army offensive against Taliban militants in the Swat valley that has uprooted hundreds of thousands…

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A test of progress will be if refugees in camps in Peshawar begin to head home. Despite the military’s declaration of victory against the Taliban in Bajaur late last month, many say it’s still too unsafe to return. Travelers and residents say the Taliban haven’t been flushed from two of nine districts there.

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Maj Gen Tariq Khan, the commander of military operations in five of Pakistan’s seven tribal agencies, said his paramilitary Frontier Corps (FC) had driven extremists out of Bajaur, where Pakistani forces have waged a six-month long campaign.

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“It’s a guerrilla war in a built-up area and forest, against a strongly held defence line held by people who are invisible…”

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The following article, based on my visit to parts of Pakistan’s tribal agencies, was posted on Reuters AlertNet today:

The Taliban’s war on women’s education

For well over a decade the Taliban have been known for their strong opposition to the participation of women in public life. Their rule over most of Afghanistan until 2001 was marked by a complete prohibition on women in the workforce or at educational facilities either as teachers or students….

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The following piece, based on my extensive investigations, interviews and visits to a number of tribal regions in the North Western Frontier Province of Pakistan was published on Reuters’ AlertNet website today:

Civilians suffer as Pakistan army targets Taliban

01 Oct 2008 15:55:00 GMT

Written by: Mustafa Qadri

Reuters and AlertNet are not responsible for the [...]

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