Thaindian News

Washington, Oct.25 (ANI): US Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan Richard Holbrooke has said that it is too early to term the Pakistan Army’s on-going offensive against the Taliban in South Waziristan, a ’success’, and that there is no ‘definitive information’ regarding it.

Interacting with media person during a special briefing on the current situation in Afghanistan and Pakistan, Holbrooke said Washington has no ‘definitive information’ regarding the South Waziristan military offensive.

“I can’t give you an answer because the offensive is just under way. I asked that question of my intelligence advisers this morning. They did not have definitive information,” The Dawn quoted Holbrooke, as saying.

“It’ll take a while before we know whether the enemy they’re fighting has been dispersed or destroyed or some mixture of the two,” he added.

When enquired that whether the war would also impinge on Al-Qaeda’s terror activities, Holbrooke said the operation was directed against the Pakistani Taliban, an not Al Qaeda.

“The target was not Al Qaeda per se, because Al Qaeda is a shadowy group of people who are moving around,” he said.

Earlier, the Pakistan Army claimed that it has achieved a great success in the ‘mother of all battles’ in South Waziristan as it the troops have captured Kotkai, the hometown of Taliban chief Hakimullah Mehsud.

The news about the fall of Kotkai, which is located strategically on one of the three routes from where the army is moving in, came just hours after 22 militants were killed in a US drone attack in the region.

The missile strike is said to have targeted one of the important Taliban leaders, Faqir Muhammad, however, reports suggested he had moved away from his hideout minutes before the Predators struck. (ANI)