The Operation al-Mizan ( en, Operation Justice ) was a series of strategic military campaigns conducted by the Pakistan army and 10,000 United States special operations forces from 2002 to 2006. It continued for five years in various phases eventually, several other operations including, the ''Operation Carlosa II''. Al-Mizan was the first major operation of Pakistani troops to combat foreign militant outfits in

North Waziristan North Waziristan District ( ps, شمالي وزیرستان ولسوالۍ, ur, ) is a district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in Pakistan. It is the northern part of Waziristan, a mountainous region of northwest Pakistan, bordering Afghanis ...

North-West Frontier Province The North-West Frontier Province (NWFP; ps, شمال لویدیځ سرحدي ولایت, ) was a Chief Commissioner's Province of British India, established on 9 November 1901 from the north-western districts of the Punjab Province. Followi ...

. An estimate of 70,000 to 80,000 troops were deployed in affected areas. The operation al-Mizan was responsible for the first casualties listed in 2002 by the ''Western Front''. It was conducted when Pakistan, US and

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

forces were severely targeted by the militants on the international border

Durand Line The Durand Line ( ps, د ډیورنډ کرښه; ur, ), forms the Pakistan–Afghanistan border, a international land border between Pakistan and Afghanistan in South Asia. The western end runs to the border with Iran and the eastern end to th ...

. The most militancy-affected areas were

Federally Administered Tribal Areas , conventional_long_name = Federally Administered Tribal Areas , nation = Pakistan , subdivision = Autonomous territory , image_flag = Flag of FATA.svg , image_coat = File:Coat of arms ...

(FATA) and

Provincially Administered Tribal Areas The Provincially Administered Tribal Area (PATA) was the former administrative subdivision of Pakistan designated in the Article 246(b) of the Constitution of Pakistan. No Act of Provincial Assembly can be applied to PATA whereas the Governor of th ...

(PATA) before the operation was initiated.

Objectives and background

The Operation al-Mizan was conducted by the United States and Pakistan to combat Al-Qaeda,

Taliban The Taliban (; ps, طالبان, ṭālibān, lit=students or 'seekers'), which also refers to itself by its state name, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a Deobandi Islamic fundamentalist, militant Islamist, jihadist, and Pasht ...

and other foreign terrorist organizations who were carrying out their activities in Waziristan after the

United States invasion of Afghanistan In late 2001, the United States and its close allies invaded Afghanistan and toppled the Taliban government. The invasion's aims were to dismantle al-Qaeda, which had executed the September 11 attacks, and to deny it a safe base of operatio ...

made them fled from Afghanistan. The operation was aided by 100,000 to 80,000 troops, 20

Infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and mar ...

battalion A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of 300 to 1,200 soldiers commanded by a lieutenant colonel, and subdivided into a number of companies (usually each commanded by a major or a captain). In some countries, battalions a ...

, six

combat engineer battalion An Engineer Combat Battalion (ECB) was a designation for a battalion-strength combat engineer unit in the U.S. Army, most prevalent during World War II. They are a component of the United States Army Corps of Engineers. Also known as "Combat ...

, one

Special Service Group , colors = Maroon, sky blue , colors_label = Colours , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = , equipment = , ...

, two Signal corps, and 39

Frontier Corps The Frontier Corps ( ur, , reporting name: FC), are a group of paramilitary forces of Pakistan, operating in the provinces of Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, to maintain law and order while overseeing the country's borders with Afghanist ...

. All units were commanded under the eight brigade headquarters stationed at two divisions. It did not achieve predetermined level of success due to lack of significant information about the presence of the militants and their nature of escaping from the ambush. In 2006 or earlier, it was aborted after a peace deal with

Baitullah Mehsud Baitullah Mehsud ( Pashto/ ur, ; – 5 August 2009) was one of founder and a leading member of TTP in Waziristan, Pakistan, and the leader of the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). He formed the TTP from an alliance of about five militant gr ...

was signed in 2004 at

Sararogha subdivision Sararogha Tehsil is a subdivision located in South Waziristan District, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. The population is 98,389 according to the 2017 census. See also * List of tehsils of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa In Pakistan, a tehsil is an adminis ...

Casualties

The operation caused significant losses from the both sides with over 1,400 casualties and killed hundreds of militants, including Al Qaeda leaders. Taliban militants targeted military convoys that caused heavy losses on military. They also launched several well-planned attacks to involve the troops in direct combat. The operation was not limited to Al-Qaeda and Taliban, more than 200

Chechens The Chechens (; ce, Нохчий, , Old Chechen: Нахчой, ''Naxçoy''), historically also known as ''Kisti'' and ''Durdzuks'', are a Northeast Caucasian ethnic group of the Nakh peoples native to the North Caucasus in Eastern Europe. "Eu ...

Uzbeks The Uzbeks ( uz, , , , ) are a Turkic ethnic group native to the wider Central Asian region, being among the largest Turkic ethnic group in the area. They comprise the majority population of Uzbekistan, next to Kazakh and Karakalpak mino ...

, and

Arabs The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...

, including their local supporter, were targeted during the military campaign. It is considered one of the major operations that killed 1,000 Pakistani troops before the conflict was ended in 2006.

References

{{Reflist 2002 in Pakistan Conflicts in 2002 History of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Wars involving the Taliban