Operation Rah-e-Nijat

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Operation Rah-e-Nijat
Part of the Insurgency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Map of North and South Waziristan
Date 19 June – 12 December 2009 (5 months, 3 weeks and 2 days) Location South Waziristan, Federally Administered Tribal Areas, Pakistan Result Pakistani victory[1][2][3][4][5] Territorial changes South Waziristan recaptured by government forces
Belligerents
Pakistan	Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan Jama'at al-Jihad al-Islami (IMU splinter faction) Al-Qaeda Foreign Mujahideen
Commanders and leaders
President Asif Ali Zardari PM Yousaf Gillani Gen. Ashfaq P. Kiyani ACM Rao Q. Suleman ADM Noman Bashir LTG. Masood Aslam MG Khalid Rabbani MG Tariq Khan MG Javed Iqbal	Baitullah Mehsud † Tohir Abduhalilovich Yo'ldoshev † Najmiddin Kamolitdinich Jalolov † Waliur Rehman Mehsud † Hakimullah Mehsud † Noor Wali Mehsud
Units involved
NSC Pakistan Armed Forces  Pakistan Army XI Corps[6] 7th Infantry Division 9th Infantry Division Army Special Forces (SSG) 50th Airborne Division  Pakistan Air Force Air Force Special Forces (SSW) No. 27th Squadron Zarrars No. 25th Squadron Night Strike Eagles No. 11th Squadron Arrows  Pakistan Navy Navy Special Forces (SSG-N)	Unknown
Strength
28,000 – 45,000 troops[6] 500 SSG Commandos[6]	10,000 militants[7] 1,500 foreign fighters[7]
Casualties and losses
approximately 83 killed, and 24 wounded (ground offensive)[8][9]	800+ killed, 83 captured (ground offensive)[8][9][10]
2 million civilians displaced[11]

The Operation Rah-e-Nijat ("Path of Salvation"; Urdu: آپریشن راہ نجات) was a strategic offensive military operation by the unified command of Pakistan Armed Forces against the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and their extremist allies in the South Waziristan area of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas that began on June 19, 2009;^[12] a major ground-air offensive was subsequently launched on October 17. It became the integral part of the war in Western fronts which led to the encirclement and destruction of Taliban forces in the region, although the Taliban leadership escaped to lawless areas of neighboring Afghanistan.

The operation was intended to finish the senior Taliban leadership and bring the lawless areas back to government control, however the leadership escaped to Afghanistan whilst areas came back under the Pakistan government control. Planning for the operation began on June 16, 2009 after successfully commencing a previous offense, the operation Rah-e-Ra'ast, and had applied a successful blockade of the region that prevented the Taliban forces from gaining external support. On October 2, 2009, the preparations for the operation were made after a top civic-military meeting took place in Islamabad which led to the revival and starting of Navy's reconnaissance and surveillance air operations to monitor the troop rotations of Taliban forces. On October 19, the ground offensive was launched when military personnel from XI Corps, along with the airborne forces who were assisted by the joint special forces, entered the area of South Waziristan, which had been subject to a three month long blockade. The Pakistan Air Force pounded the hidden and suspected mountainous regions, relying on the Navy's intelligence, while the Army marched deeper into Taliban-controlled territory. The joint-military forces entered and advanced in the region from three directions—Razmak in the north, Jandola in the east and Shakai in the west. The forces advanced into the towns of Makeen (2 serious encounter in the villages of Wachooba and Bahadar khan), Leeta Sar, Mandeech, Spinkai, Raghzai and Tiarza; initially focusing on taking the town of Kotkai which served as the command and control center for enemy combatant forces. On 24 October, the breakthrough and major achievement came when the military announced that it had successfully retaken control of the town of Kotkai after heavy fighting.

On 29 October, the military occupied the town of Kaniguram, a stronghold of former Russians fighters and Uzbeks led by the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan. On December 12, the military announced the success of the operation and took the control of the entire South Waziristan into government control. The human cost and casualties for Taliban forces were extremely high, losing roughly a thousand fighters as compared to the military forces; the senior Taliban leadership abandoned their posts and escaped to neighboring Afghanistan before they could be apprehended or killed in the actions.