“The troops are ready to move in. All preparations have been made. They are just waiting for the final orders,” an official at the Directorate of Inter-Service Intelligence, the country’s premier spy organisation, said while speaking on condition of anonymity.

Major General Khalid Rabbani of the Pakistani army is in charge of the offensive code named “Rah-e-Nijat” (the way to elimination), which is expected sometime later this month.

“The general is very confident. The morale of the troops is very high especially after success in Swat”, the intelligence official said referring to the picturesque northern valley where the army recently launched a successful offensive against extremists.

The official added that the army was waiting for the weather to get a bit colder as the military believes the harsher conditions would affect the militants more than the organised government forces.

For the past three months, Pakistani troops have cut off the supply lines to Taliban militants in South Waziristan. The region’s Mehsud tribe provides sanctuaries for militant training and planning. Baitullah Mehsud, the slain head of Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan, the main Taliban militant umbrella group in Pakistan, belonged to the tribe.

The main routes to Mehsud areas pass through areas controlled by the Wazir tribes. The two tribes have had a historical rivalry though the Mehsud is considered more powerful. “We have the support of the Wazir tribe”, the official said.

Army officials feel the support lent by Wazir tribes tilts the balance in their favour.

The offensive in South Waziristan will essentially target Makeen, Ladha and Sararogha areas – all key Mehsud strongholds, the intelligence official said.

The areas have previously been inaccessible. The dry, rugged, mountainous terrain is considered one of the toughest for soldiers to operate in. With temperatures dropping below zero in the winter, army commanders are bracing for a tough fight by militants who are thought to number several thousand.

For weeks now, authorities have been urging the local population to move out of the area through announcements made over radio transmissions. Tens of thousands of locals have poured out of South Waziristan and relocated in neighbouring districts.

Air strikes by Pakistan Air Force jets and military gunship helicopters have targeted South Waziristan for the past several months.

Pakistani troops are already present in Wana, the main town in South Waziristan.

“The environment is hostile and challenging. At night, troops sit in pitch darkness at the military bases under threat of mortar and sniper fire. Officer quarters have walls pocked with bullet marks and big holes because of mortar attacks,” said the intelligence official, who recently returned from a field visit to the region.

The Pakistan Army has made substantial progress in the tribal regions in the past few months, according to military and intelligence officials.

The seven semi-autonomous tribal regions had remained restive in the past, turning into safe havens for Taliban and al Qa’eda-related militants as they openly challenged and targeted the security troops as well as killing tribal elders who supported the government.

But the army commanders feel the ground situation seems to have changed in their favour.

“It can be easily assessed from the fact that in the past troops couldn’t move in convoys and had to be transported only through helicopters.

“This is no longer the case. Troops are now relatively in good control of the roads in most parts of the tribal areas,” said the intelligence official.

A military operation in Bajaur tribal region last year resulted in wresting the region out of the clutches of militants, who now have a limited presence in the region.

Pakistani military officials say the strength of the Taliban, and essentially the Mehsud tribe, has been weakened after the killing of Baitullah Mehsud.

The head of the Taliban in Pakistan, who was killed on August 5 in a drone strike, had unleashed a reign of terror against Pakistan by targeting military and civilians through a string of suicide attacks.

He had also managed to cobble together an alliance of disparate militant groups under one umbrella. Since his removal from the scene, the Taliban have been in disarray and weakened by internal fighting.

Hakimullah Mehsud, a young and brash militant commander, is now the head of the Taliban but military officials and analysts say he lacks the guile and leadership abilities that Baitullah Mehsud possessed.

Earlier military offences in South Waziristan in 2004 and 2005 had resulted in failures, forcing the army to enter into “peace agreements” with the Taliban commanders. The controversial deals resulted in emboldening the militants who used them to regroup and strengthen themselves.

The intelligence official said the new ground offensive would not target Jalaludin Haqqani network or two other powerful tribal commanders, Hafiz Gul Bahadur and Maulvi Nazir.

Mr Haqqani, a veteran Afghan fighter famous for his role in the war against the Soviets, has had good contacts with Pakistani intelligence services.

US officials blame Mr Haqqani for directing operations against the allied forces in Afghanistan.

In early September, the Ahmadzai Wazir tribe entered into agreement with Maulvi Nazir, who leads a faction of militants in Waziristan.

The Wazir tribe has been averse to the presence of foreign fighters in their area. In 2007, they fought against Uzbek militants in the Wana, Shakai and Angoor Adda areas of South Waziristan.

The Arab and central Asian fighters have taken a hit in North and South Waziristan as a result of successful US drone strikes in co-ordination with Pakistani intelligence agencies.

Tahir Yuldashev, the chief of Islamic movement of Uzbekistan, was reported killed in a US drone attack in South Waziristan on August 27, according to news reports quoting American officials.

In a sign of Pakistan army’s growing confidence and control of the tribal regions, Gen Ashfaq Pervaiz Kayani, the powerful army chief, visited North Waziristan on Thursday.

Gen Kayani spent a day with the troops deployed in the area and distributed gallantry awards, according to a military spokesperson.

foreign.desk@thenational.ae