Pak Army's real challenge will be to survive in the Taliban 'morass'

London, Oct.25 (ANI): The Pakistan Army has been claiming huge success in the ongoing 'mother of all battles' in South Waziristan and has announced that the troops have captured Kotkai, the hometown of Taliban chief Hakimullah Mehsud, however analysts believe that all important extremist leaders have already escaped from the region and that the army has a long way to go before the offensive can actually be deemed successful.

While Pakistani media reports said that the military is advancing inside the Taliban's den with great speed, experts said the deeper the forces penetrate into the region the more the resistance they would face, and with the onset of the winter season trouble for the Pakistan Army is only going to expand.

"Nobody expects the top leadership or anyone who really matters in the TTP to still be in Kotkai.The Taliban leadership has most likely vacated the area and moved deeper into the territory," The Guardian quoted Stratfor's Kamran Bokhari, as saying.

More than that experts fear that offensive 'Raah-e-Nijat' would have a similar fate like many such operations in the past, with the military signing peace accords with the extremists.

Officials also opine that the real test of the security forces would start once they move deeper into the terror safe haven.

"The military's movement is faster than in their previous campaigns.But the more they get inside the sanctuary, the more they will be bogged down, said a former government official, who was posted in North Waziristan.

The news about the fall of Kotkai, which is strategically located 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)