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Full Article Follow Reuters Facebook Twitter RSS YouTube Read German government wants nuclear exit by 2022 at latest | 11:23am EDT EU racing to draft second Greek bailout: sources | 8:41am EDT Air France crash sparks pilot mystery 27 May 2011 UPDATE 2-Italy to bring forward deficit-cutting decree-sources 23 May 2011 Roadside bomb kills seven NATO troops in Afghanistan 26 May 2011 Discussed 83 Netanyahu speech eyed for sign of U.S.-Israel rift 75 $1 trillion on the table in U.S. debt talks 54 Judge voids controversial Wisconsin union law Watched Sarah Palin's Rolling Thunder Sun, May 29 2011 GM pulls the plug Fri, May 27 2011 Scientists revive ancient spider in stunning 3D detail Tue, May 24 2011 Pakistan tells aid agencies to prepare for Tweet Share this By Zeeshan Haider ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Humanitarian agencies active in Pakistan's northwest have been quietly told to prepare for up to 365,000 displaced people in advance of a military offensive against North Waziristan, a senior official with an... Email Print Related News Clinton calls on Pakistan to do more against militants Fri, May 27 2011 Bomber kills 24 in Pakistan; U.S. military mission trimmed Thu, May 26 2011 Pakistan retakes naval base after attack Mon, May 23 2011 Yemeni caught in Pakistan is al Qaeda operative: officials Wed, May 18 2011 Pakistan military protests after NATO incursion wounds soldiers Tue, May 17 2011 Analysis & Opinion Stirring up the hornet’s nest in Pakistan’s northwest Pakistan, India hold talks on Siachen Related Topics World » By Zeeshan Haider ISLAMABAD | Mon May 30, 2011 11:05am EDT ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Humanitarian agencies active in Pakistan's northwest have been quietly told to prepare for up to 365,000 displaced people in advance of a military offensive against North Waziristan, a senior official with an international humanitarian agency said Monday. The official, who requested anonymity because of the sensitivity of the subject, was responding to a media report in a local newspaper that Pakistan will launch a military offensive against al Qaeda and Taliban safe havens in the Afghan border regions. "Humanitarian agencies operating in FATA and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa were given the heads up two weeks ago by the authorities of a possible displacement of up to 50,000 families," he said, referring to the Federally Administered Tribal Areas and the northwest province. A similar tip-off in 2009 preceded a military offensive in neighboring South Waziristan by about five months, he said. Other aid agencies were not immediately available for comment. The report In Pakistan's the News newspaper comes just days after U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton reiterated a U.S. demand to tackle sanctuaries for al Qaeda and the Taliban on the Afghan border. An understanding for an offensive in North Waziristan, the main sanctuary in Pakistan for militants fighting in Afghanistan, was reached when Clinton and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen visited Pakistan last week, the News reported. The United States has long demanded that Pakistan attack the region to eliminate the Haqqani network, one of the deadliest Afghan militant factions fighting U.S. troops in Afghanistan. Pakistan has been reluctant to do so, but it has come under more pressure and its performance in fighting militancy is under scrutiny again after it was discovered that Osama bin Laden had been living in the country. The News quoted unidentified "highly placed sources" as saying Pakistan's air force would soften up militant targets under the "targeted military offensive" before ground operations were launched. The newspaper cited the sources as saying that a strategy for action in North Waziristan had been drawn up some time ago and an "understanding for carrying out the operation was developed" during the Clinton visit. The target of any North Waziristan operation would be the most violent factions of the Pakistani Taliban, which has strong ties to al Qaeda, the report said. But the United States would almost certainly push for a move against Haqqani, too. Pakistani officials were not immediately available for comment. A U.S. embassy official had no immediate comment. The newspaper said a "joint operation" with allies had been discussed but no decision had been taken because of sensitivities. "In case the two sides agreed to go for a joint action, it would be the first time in the present war (on militancy) that foreign boots will get a chance to be on Pakistani soil with the consent of the host country." That could be highly risky for Pakistan's generals. SENSITIVITIES OF U.S.-PAKISTAN COOPERATION The military, long regarded as the most effective institution in a country with a history of corrupt, inept civilian governments, suffered a major blow to its image when U.S. special forces killed bin Laden deep inside Pakistan. It was further humiliated on May 22-23 when a group of between four and six militants besieged a naval base for 16 hours and destroyed two P-3C Orion aircraft from the Unites States, crucial for Pakistan's maritime surveillance capabilities. The assault raised fresh doubts about the military's ability to protect its bases after a similar raid on the army headquarters in the city of Rawalpindi in 2009. Pakistani security officials detained a former navy commando and his brother Friday in connection with the attack, intelligence officials and relatives said. Some analysts say any joint U.S.-Pakistani operation would subject the army to even more public criticism in a country where anti-U.S. feeling runs deep. "The reaction could be even more vociferous, just because everybody is so suspicious -- as well as dismissive -- of American interference," said Imtiaz Gul, author of "The Most Dangerous Place," a book about Pakistan's militant strongholds. "People already feel so humiliated because of this Osama bin Laden thing and now they will have another reason to react." But the South Asian nation, dependent on billions of dollars in U.S. aid, is under more pressure than ever to show it is serious about tackling militancy. Attacking U.S. enemies in North Waziristan may be one way of repairing ties with Washington which were badly damaged by the bin Laden affair. Pakistan maintains about 140,000 troops in the northwest, including about 34,000 in North Waziristan, but says they are too stretched fighting Pakistani Taliban insurgents in other parts of the region to tackle North Waziristan. Aside from strategic concerns, an attack on the Haqqani network could further threaten Pakistan's security as it faces a new wave of attacks by the Pakistani Taliban to avenge the killing of bin Laden by U.S. special forces on May 2. Highlighting the dangers in North Waziristan, a blast at a restaurant in its main town Miranshah wounded 12 people on Monday, government officials and residents said. (Additional reporting by Chris Allbritton, Rebecca Conway, Haji Mujtaba and Augustine Anthony; Writing by Michael Georgy; Editing by Chris Allbritton and Sanjeev Miglani) World Tweet this Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints We welcome comments that advance the story directly or with relevant tangential information. We try to block comments that use offensive language, all capital letters or appear to be spam, and we review comments frequently to ensure they meet our standards. 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