Operation Black Thunderstorm

Operation Black Thunderstorm
	Part of the Insurgency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
	; Pakistani forces hoist the flag of Pakistan at the highest point of the Valley after the operation
Date	26 April 2009 – 14 June 2009 ; (1 month, 2 weeks and 5 days)
Location	Swat, Buner, Lower Dir, Shangla District, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Province
Result	Pakistani victory Districts returned to government control, writ of the state established; Many Pakistani Taliban militants and commanders killed or captured, remaining fled to Afghanistan;
Belligerents
Pakistan	TTP; TNSM
Commanders and leaders
Asif Ali Zardari; (President); Tariq Majid; (Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff); Ashfaq Pervez Kayani; (Chief of Army Staff); Tanvir Mahmood Ahmed; (Chief of Air Staff) Operation commanders Masood Aslam; Hifazat Khan; Ijaz Awan; Haroon Aslam; Sajjad Ghani; Tariq Khan	Maulana Fazlullah ; Sufi Muhammad (POW) ; Maulana Ameer Izzat (POW) †; Syed Wahab (POW); Maulana Muhammad Alam (POW) †
Units involved
Pakistan Armed Forces Pakistan Army 9th Infantry Division; 50th Airborne Division; SSG Division; ; Pakistan Air Force No. 25 Squadron; ; Pakistan Navy COMNOR; Pakistan Marines; ; Civil Armed Forces Frontier Corps; Punjab Rangers; ; Pro-government tribes	TTP; TNSM
Strength
30,000 - 45,000 Regular and Airborne Forces; 500+ SSG Division	5,000
Casualties and losses
50 killed ; 100 wounded	1,475 killed (23 foreign militants); 114 captured
	3.4 million civilians displaced

Operation Black Thunderstorm^[11] was a military operation that commenced on April 26, 2009, conducted by the Pakistan Army, with the aim of retaking Buner, Lower Dir, Swat and Shangla districts from the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan after the militants took control of them since the start of the year.^[12]

^ [1] Major operation in Malakand completed: Mukhtar at the Wayback Machine (archived August 17, 2011)
^ Abbas, H. (2014). The Taliban insurgency in Pakistan: Operation Rah-e-Rast. Small Wars & Insurgencies, 25(3), 512-537. - Notes that the operation was able to dislodge the Taliban from Swat.
^ Javaid, U. (2011). War on Terror Partnership: Pak-US Relations since 2001. Journal of Political Studies, 18(1), 195-208. - Describes Operation Black Thunderstorm as a "successful military offensive" for Pakistan.
^ Khan, I. (2010). The Second Battle of Swat: The fall of a Pakistani Taliban stronghold. Journal of Defence Studies, 4(1), 101-118. - Argues that through Operation Black Thunderstorm, "Pakistan won its biggest victory against militants."
^ Gulf News (2009, June 15). Pakistan Declares Victory Over Taliban in Swat. Retrieved from https://gulfnews.com/world/asia/pakistan/pakistan-declares-victory-over-taliban-in-swat-1.49324 - Contemporary news article highlighting Pakistan's declaration of victory after driving Taliban out.
^ Bajoria, J. & Kaplan, E. (2010). The ISI and Terrorism: Behind the Accusations. Council on Foreign Relations. - Notes that Operation Black Thunderstorm "succeeded in dislodging the Taliban."
^ Abbas, H. (2010). Reclaiming the Swat Valley: Empirical Insights for Rehabilitating a Society with Military Success. Journal of Strategic Security, 3(4), 1-22. - Discusses how Pakistan was able to regain control of Swat after Operation Black Thunderstorm.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Militants kill aides of cleric captured by Pak military". thedailystar.net. Retrieved 13 May 2020.
^ Roggio, Bill (24 April 2009). "Rangers deployed to secure Islamabad outskirts". The Long War Journal. Retrieved 19 February 2015.
^ "Pakistanis attack Taliban over mosque bombing". Archived from the original on June 11, 2009. Retrieved June 10, 2009.
^ "26 killed as troops hit Taliban hideouts in Dir". Daily Times. 28 April 2009.
^ "Obama's foreign policy". Cosmopolis.ch. 2 June 2009. Retrieved 19 February 2015.

[dailytimes.com.pk-1] [1] Major operation in Malakand completed: Mukhtar at the Wayback Machine (archived August 17, 2011)

[2] Abbas, H. (2014). The Taliban insurgency in Pakistan: Operation Rah-e-Rast. Small Wars & Insurgencies, 25(3), 512-537. - Notes that the operation was able to dislodge the Taliban from Swat.

[3] Javaid, U. (2011). War on Terror Partnership: Pak-US Relations since 2001. Journal of Political Studies, 18(1), 195-208. - Describes Operation Black Thunderstorm as a "successful military offensive" for Pakistan.

[4] Khan, I. (2010). The Second Battle of Swat: The fall of a Pakistani Taliban stronghold. Journal of Defence Studies, 4(1), 101-118. - Argues that through Operation Black Thunderstorm, "Pakistan won its biggest victory against militants."

[5] Gulf News (2009, June 15). Pakistan Declares Victory Over Taliban in Swat. Retrieved from https://gulfnews.com/world/asia/pakistan/pakistan-declares-victory-over-taliban-in-swat-1.49324 - Contemporary news article highlighting Pakistan's declaration of victory after driving Taliban out.

[6] Bajoria, J. & Kaplan, E. (2010). The ISI and Terrorism: Behind the Accusations. Council on Foreign Relations. - Notes that Operation Black Thunderstorm "succeeded in dislodging the Taliban."

[7] Abbas, H. (2010). Reclaiming the Swat Valley: Empirical Insights for Rehabilitating a Society with Military Success. Journal of Strategic Security, 3(4), 1-22. - Discusses how Pakistan was able to regain control of Swat after Operation Black Thunderstorm.

[The_Daily_Star-8] "Militants kill aides of cleric captured by Pak military". thedailystar.net. Retrieved 13 May 2020.

[9] Roggio, Bill (24 April 2009). "Rangers deployed to secure Islamabad outskirts". The Long War Journal. Retrieved 19 February 2015.

[10] "Pakistanis attack Taliban over mosque bombing". Archived from the original on June 11, 2009. Retrieved June 10, 2009.

[11] "26 killed as troops hit Taliban hideouts in Dir". Daily Times. 28 April 2009.

[12] "Obama's foreign policy". Cosmopolis.ch. 2 June 2009. Retrieved 19 February 2015.

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