Why Pakistani army isn't able to defeat Taliban?

[djdefense]

Because, in certain parts of Afghanistan and in the North-western region of Pakistan, the Talibani ideology is a part of life. They have support of the locals. Pakistani army is seen as an outsider, which it is not. Also, because the Afghan Pak border is porous and that allows militants to change positions.

Finally, like some people already said, they use gorilla tactics. Conventional armies think in terms of winning "posts" and gaining a higher vantage point. So, when someone says that they have captured city X in region Y, it is irrelevant to Gorilla war. You could be sitting pretty in city X while Gorillas have surround your city from all sides. Gorillas think of covering an area quickly, no matter how good of a position their enemy is at, and attacking suddenly, preferably from all sides.

 

[rz3300]

Well anytime you have an enemy with no real borders and based on an ideology it is going to be difficult to defeat them. It is like having a war on jealousy. That said, though, I am pretty sure that they do not have the greatest military nor the incentive to go out and expend all their efforts. I have a feeling that Western media and the reality of the situation there are two different things.

 

[UnslaadKrosis]

Well, it has been proved time and again that the Taliban has always had connections with the Pakistan military and its intelligence department, the ISI, which are on not-so-friendly terms with the government in Islamabad. So while 'Pakistani Government' led by civilian ministers may try to root out the Taliban once and for all, the safeguarding of the armed militants by its own military has made it a big problem. One which has no concrete solutions in sight in the near future.

 

[JulianWilliams]

I'm not sure it's even politically desirable from the Pakistani Govt's point of view. Why would they bother fighting against them when they're such an isolated threat, mostly existing in the northern parts of the country along its border with Afghanistan. It's much simpler to just bribe them to keep them in check most of the time.

 

[DownWithDaesh]

I think it's probably because Afghanistan is such a mess, and the Taliban in Pakistan can always rely on help from across the border. It may be that the population in the border areas of Pakistan is highly sympathetic towards the Taliban; I don't know to what extent this is true. Either way, it's not easy to tell who is sympathetic towards the Taliban and who isn't (Taliban supporters/members can just lie and deceive), so it must be hard for the government to crack down on the Taliban and its supporters without inadvertently tyrannizing innocent people, which would lead to an increase in hostility towards the government and could make the problem worse.

 

[explorerx7]

It's easy to be elsewhere , blaming the Pakistani Government without thorough consideration of the all the surrounding factors.
World superpowers like Russia and the United States with all the superior capabilities have not been successful in defeating the Taliban in neighbouring Afghanistan. The terrain which allows easily hit and dissapear tactics, along with support from local sympathizers have played a major role in their continued survival.
This situation serves as a reminder of the Vietnam war, where the fight is against forces using unconventional means which makes it extremely difficult to contain them.

 

[Signalian]

Pakistan has been at war with ''Taliban Pakistan'' for many years now but isn't able to put an end to this group. in your own opinion why could have gone wrong? what could Pakistan do to end Taliban?

The "Taliban Pakistan" or TTP is different from the Taliban which US/ISAF are fighting in Afghanistan.

PA was not prepared for a COIN war in the start of 2000's but things have changed drastically now. The formation of paramilitary forces into a potent force with body armour, comm sets, logistics and new fire power in the form of MBT's and Artillery and also transport helicopters has already happened.

The LCB's (Light Commando Battalions), have been formed in past few years which are similar to US Rangers and is an air borne force with air assault capability also. Some 9 battalions have been formed, each attached to Corps HQ.

In the start of conflict, PA didnt use MBTs, Gunships, Artillery and aircrafts of PAF. Also Pakistan also went on to negotiation table with this faction (TTP) and went to peace for a certain amount of time. Such pauses helped this faction to re-group and re-launch attacks. The good will of Pakistan was taken for granted but after the peace treaties were dissolved, then there was no looking back.

Most of the areas have been cleared from this menace and the bomb blasts and attacks have reduced since 2014 when different military operations had started. These operations like Zarb e Azab and Rah e Nijaat have dealt a severe blow these terrorists, Ops Rah e Nijaat is still in process.

 

[Scorpion]

The "Taliban Pakistan" or TTP is different from the Taliban which US/ISAF are fighting in Afghanistan.

PA was not prepared for a COIN war in the start of 2000's but things have changed drastically now. The formation of paramilitary forces into a potent force with body armour, comm sets, logistics and new fire power in the form of MBT's and Artillery and also transport helicopters has already happened.

The LCB's (Light Commando Battalions), have been formed in past few years which are similar to US Rangers and is an air borne force with air assault capability also. Some 9 battalions have been formed, each attached to Corps HQ.

In the start of conflict, PA didnt use MBTs, Gunships, Artillery and aircrafts of PAF. Also Pakistan also went on to negotiation table with this faction (TTP) and went to peace for a certain amount of time. Such pauses helped this faction to re-group and re-launch attacks. The good will of Pakistan was taken for granted but after the peace treaties were dissolved, then there was no looking back.

Most of the areas have been cleared from this menace and the bomb blasts and attacks have reduced since 2014 when different military operations had started. These operations like Zarb e Azab and Rah e Nijaat have dealt a severe blow these terrorists, Ops Rah e Nijaat is still in process.

How great of a threat does TTP pose to Pakistan security these days?

 

[Signalian]

How great of a threat does TTP pose to Pakistan security these days?

It still exists in some forms and is dependent upon external funding too. Pakistan is also plagued by likes of Haqqani Nw, LeJ, BLA, BRA, A-Q etc too.

 

[BATMAN]

Pakistan army doesn't have the capability to defeat Taliban. Taliban is using guerrilla warfare tactic which Pakistan army can't handle.

Depends what you consider as defeat.
Taliban is just the title terrorists hijacked, similarly Isis associate them selves with Islam.
Basically all terror organization are just many faces of common brain.
TTP as we identify them are trained, armed and instructed by the forces in Afghanistan.
Historically Pakistan never had manned its borders with Afghanistan and Iran, therefore TTP invaded border villages, built bunkers on strategic hills, but our troops defeated them and today we are building a fence and check posts all along the border.
TTP is not using gorilla warfare as you mentioned, they hit soft targets or use IED to target small military patrol.
At the moment, Pak army has taken precautions from IED but soft targets will always be vulnerable.

 

[BATMAN]

How great of a threat does TTP pose to Pakistan security these days?

ZERO

 

[BATMAN]

I was talking to a Pakistani guy yesterday and he told that Pakistan military doesn't want to confront Taliban rather use them against India. I was shocked when he told me that because we hear a lot about Taliban operation against the Army and inside Pakistan. Corruption as its finest.

Taliban is history the day US carpet bombed Pashtoon areas.
Current generation of Afghanis are not related to Taliban by any yard.
Situation however is complex in Afghanistan, only Pakistan army have the knowledge based on facts. Any random person is not qualified to define the situation correctly.
My guess you met a dishonest person.

 

[BATMAN]

Not too familiar with the situation in Pakistan but I imagine it's more or less the same as in Afghanistan. A farmed for 23h a day and a Taliban for 1h. Hard to pin them down since there is no form of surveillance and personal identification. They attack the government troops when they feel like it and if the government comes around to do sweep the area they just act like friendly farmers.

Increased intelligence is one solution but it too would only have limited success.

It's not same as Afghanistan. Our troops are targeted mainly by using IED.
We didn't had attack helis. and drones which were required to chase them efficiently.
They used to cross back to their hideouts in Afghanistan. For this we are building fence because no one on Afghan side cares.
Whereas on Afghan side all resources were /are available but the intent is missing.