Operation Black Thunderstorm

Operation Black Thunderstorm
Part of the Insurgency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

Pakistani forces hoist the flag of Pakistan at the highest point of the Valley after the operation
Date26 April 2009 – 14 June 2009 [1]
(1 month, 2 weeks and 5 days)
Location
Swat, Buner, Lower Dir, Shangla District, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Province
Result

Pakistani victory[2][3][4][5][6][7]

  • Districts returned to government control, writ of the state established
  • Many Pakistani Taliban militants and commanders killed or captured, remaining fled to Afghanistan
Belligerents
Pakistan Pakistan TTP
TNSM
Commanders and leaders

Asif Ali Zardari
(President)
Tariq Majid
(Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff)
Ashfaq Pervez Kayani
(Chief of Army Staff)
Tanvir Mahmood Ahmed
(Chief of Air Staff) Operation commanders

Masood Aslam
Hifazat Khan
Ijaz Awan
Haroon Aslam
Sajjad Ghani
Tariq Khan		 Maulana Fazlullah
Sufi Muhammad  (POW)
Maulana Ameer Izzat (POW) †[8]
Syed Wahab (POW)[8]
Maulana Muhammad Alam (POW) †[8]
Units involved

Pakistan Armed Forces

Pro-government tribes[10]		 TTP
TNSM
Strength
30,000 - 45,000 Regular and Airborne Forces
500+ SSG Division		 5,000
Casualties and losses
50 killed
100 wounded		 1,475 killed (23 foreign militants)
114 captured
3.4 million civilians displaced

Operation Black Thunderstorm[11] was a military operation that commenced on April 26, 2009, conducted by the Pakistan Army, with the aim of retaking Buner, Lower Dir, Swat and Shangla districts from the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan after the militants took control of them since the start of the year.[12]

  1. ^ [1] Major operation in Malakand completed: Mukhtar at the Wayback Machine (archived August 17, 2011)
  2. ^ Abbas, H. (2014). The Taliban insurgency in Pakistan: Operation Rah-e-Rast. Small Wars & Insurgencies, 25(3), 512-537. - Notes that the operation was able to dislodge the Taliban from Swat.
  3. ^ Javaid, U. (2011). War on Terror Partnership: Pak-US Relations since 2001. Journal of Political Studies, 18(1), 195-208. - Describes Operation Black Thunderstorm as a "successful military offensive" for Pakistan.
  4. ^ Khan, I. (2010). The Second Battle of Swat: The fall of a Pakistani Taliban stronghold. Journal of Defence Studies, 4(1), 101-118. - Argues that through Operation Black Thunderstorm, "Pakistan won its biggest victory against militants."
  5. ^ Gulf News (2009, June 15). Pakistan Declares Victory Over Taliban in Swat. Retrieved from https://gulfnews.com/world/asia/pakistan/pakistan-declares-victory-over-taliban-in-swat-1.49324 - Contemporary news article highlighting Pakistan's declaration of victory after driving Taliban out.
  6. ^ Bajoria, J. & Kaplan, E. (2010). The ISI and Terrorism: Behind the Accusations. Council on Foreign Relations. - Notes that Operation Black Thunderstorm "succeeded in dislodging the Taliban."
  7. ^ Abbas, H. (2010). Reclaiming the Swat Valley: Empirical Insights for Rehabilitating a Society with Military Success. Journal of Strategic Security, 3(4), 1-22. - Discusses how Pakistan was able to regain control of Swat after Operation Black Thunderstorm.
  8. ^ a b c "Militants kill aides of cleric captured by Pak military". thedailystar.net. Retrieved 13 May 2020.
  9. ^ Roggio, Bill (24 April 2009). "Rangers deployed to secure Islamabad outskirts". The Long War Journal. Retrieved 19 February 2015.
  10. ^ "Pakistanis attack Taliban over mosque bombing". Archived from the original on June 11, 2009. Retrieved June 10, 2009.
  11. ^ "26 killed as troops hit Taliban hideouts in Dir". Daily Times. 28 April 2009.
  12. ^ "Obama's foreign policy". Cosmopolis.ch. 2 June 2009. Retrieved 19 February 2015.