Bajaur, Pakistan – I spent the last few days with the Bajaur Scouts on the frontlines of Pakistan’s major anti-militant operation in the tribal region the Scouts call home.  But it’s not just the Scouts in the fight, all tolled there are about 4,000 – 5,000 Pakistani security forces pushing their way west toward the border with Afghanistan. The focus of the operation, the commanding officer of the Scouts told me, is so they can cut off the supply and transportation vein the militants have established running from the southern parts of the tribal belt up to Bajaur and then across into the Kunar province of Afghanistan. Kunar is the site of some of the deadliest militant attacks on coalition forces and a lifeline for the Taliban who has kicked up its terror attacks across Pakistan.

I’ve had multiple opportunities to report alongside US forces in Afghanistan and Iraq.  This was my first time with a foreign army.  I’ve lived in Pakistan two times, so I’ve gotten to know the culture here quite well.  With hospitality a hallmark, you are hard pressed to leave anyone’s house in Pakistan without a cup of tea or a meal.  That’s even if you are just dropping something off. There’s no difference on the frontlines.

Tea with the Colonel

I guess its safe to say any soldier wants to bring as much of their “home” with them to the battlefield.  On Wednesday, we hopped from compound to compound captured by the security forces from the militants in just the last few weeks.  As we stopped to hear what Colonel Ali’s take was on things, mortars being fired from a compound on our left and massive artillery rounds coming from the HQ a few miles back down the road, what did we do?  We had a cup of tea in a nicely arranged outdoor sitting area, of course.  I liked the location — 4 yards from a bunker.

Mortars Fly

This is some video of the compound firing mortars to ‘soften’ an area from which a Taliban attack came from the previous night.

done

Taliban Tunnels

This three-month-long battle is being fought inch by inch; the end of the current front line is not far up the road form the Scouts’ HQ.  It took them two months to capture just eight miles of territory.

And why did they move so slowly; the Taliban had spent years carving out a cave and tunnel network connecting compounds for miles.  All of the compounds not currently used by the Pakistani forces have been razed to the ground.  Before they started this “scorched earth” policy, the militants would return to cleared compounds and use them as staging ground to launch more attacks.

This video shows how the Taliban used one such tunnel in an effort to fight off advancing Pakistani forces.  The leader of the Bajaur Taliban Qari Zia was in this compound when the troops arrived, but he escaped through one of the tunnels.

done

The commander of Bajaur Scouts said he thinks they’ll be able to wrap up the operation and clear militants out of their area by the end of December.  The big question, where will they go?  The military is already prepping for the influx in Mohmand, the tribal area south of Bajaur.

I wonder if the tea the soldiers will be serving in Mohmand will be as good as Bajaur?
I’ll get back to you on that one.

Islamabad — Just before 8pm on Saturday, my wife Katherine and I sat down for a quiet meal on what we thought would be a quiet night in Islamabad this past Saturday. We were dead wrong.

Just after my first bite of pasta, an explosion rattled the window just next to us. It was so severe that the house itself seemed to move a bit, prompting me to think that the blast was in our neighborhood. We would find out days later, that feeling was shared by many of our friends who live near us and some who even live farther away from the Islamabad Marriott Hotel than us. All of them thought the bombing was on their street. This was Islamabad’s worst terror attack and even those who have lived here for years never experienced such a powerful explosion.

The Marriott is about two miles away from us and the detonation of 1,300 pounds of explosives packed in a dump truck as it was tangled in an entryway security barrier could be felt as far as 10 miles away.

Right after it happened, I sent Katherine and our dog into a back bathroom in case there were more explosions. I immediately rang Fox News producer Sib is see what he knew as I slowly opened the door to our balcony. Sib was in the Blue Area of Islamabad, less than a mile from the blast site. He could already see a column of smoke rising from in front of the Marriott hotel and described the damage to the building he was in; shattered glass and the collapse of false ceilings.

I grabbed the camera, hopped in the car and off to the scene we went. We arrived about 20 minutes after the explosion to a scene of chaos and horror.

As a foreigner living in Islamabad, entertainment and dining options are limited. With five restaurants, the Marriott was a hot spot. On Saturday, it was jarring to see a place we went to so often in this state of devastation.

I immediately started doing a phone report with Neil Cavuto as we arrived. Sib shot off to grab footage of the damage and the fire that was just beginning at that stage, but then later engulfed all four upper floors of the building with 250 guest rooms.

This was the second bombing in the center of Islamabad since we’ve moved here. The first was at the Danish embassy back in June. Saturday’s Marriott blast was much, much larger but in both cases, there was an eerie similarity.

Islamabad is a planned capital city. It was built to be the seat of government and serve as a home for the Pakistanis and foreigners who work here. So it’s full of grand, wide avenues packed with vegetation. Thick, tall trees line nearly every road.

In the immediate aftermath of both bombings, as we neared the scene, the first indication that there was an attack was identical. Blocks away from the explosion green summer leaves were blasted from their branches by the shock wave. So leading us to what we knew was going to be a gruesome scene was a blanket of soft green leaves.

Everyday this week there has been new fallout from the attack. Monday, one of the main international schools closed down for the week; Tuesday, British Airways indefinitely suspended flights to and from Pakistan; Wednesday, the security in front of the only other Islamabad five-star hotel was dramatically beefed up; today, the US Embassy joined the UK Embassy by suspending all visa services and on Friday its expected that the UN will make a ruling on how its going to respond to the situation - either send families members home or let them stay.

To us as long-term guests in this city, the Marriott was a familiar place with familiar food that made us feel a bit more at home. It was close to the heart. For those Pakistanis who live here, it is part of the makeup of the city. If not part of the literal skyline, it is part of the identity of Islamabad. The owner Sadruddin Hashwani knows this and made the ambitious proclamation from the burned out hull of his hotel this week that he will reopen for a New Years Eve party at the end of this year. Mr. Hashwani, send me an invitation.

As I sit here in Islamabad, beads of sweat permanently residing on my forehead thanks to a temperature hovering around 100 degrees and Florida- like humidity, its hard to believe that just a helicopter’s flight from here three mountain climbers were plucked off an icy mountain face after one of the deadliest days in mountaineering history this past week.

They were the lucky ones even though they are dealing with severe frostbite after an icefall stranded them for days up on K-2.  Eleven mountaineers died out of 30 who set out last Friday to summit the second highest peak in the world.  None of those killed were Americans, although one was on the mountain but did not attempt to reach the peak that fateful day.

K-2, or as the Pakistanis call it Lamba Pahar, stands at 28,250 feet about 800 feet shorter than Mount Everest, but it’s thought to be much more of a challenging climb with its knife-edged ridges and icy slopes.

Like the first-hand story of Jon Krakauer’s account of a rouge storm on Mount Everest in his book “Into Thin Air,” the past week’s events on K-2 are full of heart-wrenching stories of human determination and simple mistakes that cost people their lives.

The last one off the mountain, just on Wednesday, was Italian climber Marco Confortola.  He told the Associated Press that he and his Irish climbing buddy he nicknamed Jesus watched as the first ice avalanched swept several climbers to their deaths.  The Italian then heard the boom of a second avalanche only to see two boots sticking out of the falling ice “I recognized them, they were Jesus’,”
he said.

Two Dutch mountaineers were rescued earlier in the week, one saying improperly laid ropes in a dangerous gully know as “The Bottleneck” -where the avalanche took place- contributed to the number of climbers killed.

The Pakistani government has said they will launch an investigation, but so far there have not been any complaints lodged against any of the tour companies who take climbers up K-2.

Once Confortola was one his own, he knew he had to head down to save his life.  “The decent was devastating, especially the last part.  But the worst moment was seeing the boots of Jesus, my friend.”

Jesus’ real name was Gerard McDonnell.  Just before he was swept to his icy death, he became the first Irish person to reach the summit of K

Islamabad, Pakistan - Not getting the welcome home he wanted, Pakistani Prime Minister Yousef Gilani returned to Islamabad today after three days of high-level meetings in the U.S. as a battle raged in the northwestern Swat valley. While he was gone, violence has kicked-up in Swat where a pro-Taliban militant group has been steadily increasing its influence and power despite a peace deal with the government back in May. Pakistan’s military has been battling with the militants for two days after Taliban fighters abducted 25 policemen. Nearly 60 people have been killed, including 13 civilians. This is just such a situation Prime Minster Gilani says his government will handle in its own way while on his state visit to the U.S.

There’s American concern that the Pakistan government’s choice to talk with tribal elders to use their influence with militants is not working. In fact, top U.S. military officials believe talks have given Taliban militants more room to grow and allows safe havens for Al Qaeda leaders hiding out in the remote region to remain. When asked by Fox News about this concern, Major General Athar Abbas, the Pakistani Army Spokesman, said “There are no quick fixes to this problem, we have to go for solutions which are homegrown.” Meaning, the situation is in Pakistan and has to be dealt with in a Pakistani way.

In the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), militants are continuing to cross over into Afghanistan to attack U.S.-led coalition forces and their Afghan counterparts. Afghan and NATO officials say the attacks are up 40% this year. And recently the top Taliban leader in Pakistan Beitullah Mesud started pulling militant groups together creating a Taliban umbrella organization. But some groups are holding out and not joining. They are steadfast in staying on their own such as one group who has created parallel systems because they say the government is not providing the Islamic way of life they want.

One such group is Lashkar-e-Islam, the local Taliban that controls the Khyber Tribal agency. Their number two in charge, Haji Mesri Khan, gave Fox News a rare one-on-one interview this week in FATA. Khan said “Ever since assistant secretary of State Richard Boucher visited (Pakistan) and they (Pakistani Government) started to take money from the U.S. and attacked us, things have gone bad between us and the government.” The big picture impact of what could happen if the militants continue to train, arm and grow is dire. It’s thought that the next major terrorist attack on the West could be planned in FATA.

The past week here in Islamabad saw a few days of newspaper headlines spelling the end to the nine years of President Pervez Musharaf.

Musharraf’s supporters lost elections back in February and slain Benazir Buttos’ Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) gained the majority. Her widower now heads the party and has called Musharraf a ‘relic of the
past’ and that he should step down.

The new ruling coalition recently proposed legislation that — if passed — would greatly weaken Musharraf’s powers.

To all of this, the president has remained mum. That was until Saturday when he held a small press conference open to only selected Pakistani media, breaking his three months of silence. It was aired on all news networks across the country.

I had the opportunity to interview Musharraf back in November when he imposed a state of emergency. The same thing struck me then as it did during his speech this weekend. Here is this man getting it from all sides, criticism coming from home and abroad, but he is confident he is on the right track.

He did say though that if he feels like a ‘useless vegetable’ — if his powers are dramatically slashed — he will go. Musharraf is a man accustomed to being in charge. Some analysts here say even bending or changing the rules to make sure he remains on top. With his supporters losing their control of the government and now that he no longer fully controls the military, if he is reduced to anything less than what he thinks he deserves, off he goes.

Violent week

Western officials are concerned that the uncertainty of Musharraf’s future has caused the current government to take its eye is off the ball.

There’s an ongoing fight with homegrown Islamic extremists in the west and north of Pakistan and this past week, Al Qaeda carried out a deadly bombing in front of the Danish embassy. I got there just 15
minutes after the attack. It was a gruesome scene in a normally sleepy and secure part of this capital. When claiming responsibility, Al Qaeda said it was because of the republishing of cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad.

Also, in a city just next to Islamabad, police foiled a major terror plot Friday night — seizing vehicles packed with over 2,000 pounds of explosives. According to officials, one of the targets was to have
been Musharraf’s official residence.

Musharraf’s Future

The two main parties of the coalition are split on how to handle Musharraf.

Former Prime Minster Nawaz Sharif, the arch political enemy of Musharraf who heads the second most popular party, went a step further than the PPP saying he should be impeached and tried for treason.
Musharrf overthrew Sharif’s government back in 1999 in a bloodless coup, so no love lost there.

The former general Musharraf said he would do what the Pakistan Parliament decides. Saying in his Saturday speech “Parliament is supreme.”

He squashed rumors that he has already plotted out a location for exile — some reports said he has bought property in Turkey. But according to Musharraf, he has no home outside of Pakistan.

Unlike the steamy haze that is ever-present this time of year in Islamabad, there is one thing that is crystal clear — predicting Pakistani politics is risky business.

That is especially true when you are dealing with the end of a political career of a strong military ruler when the state of the civilian government is in major flux as it is now… nearly anything can happen. Stay tuned.

Scott Heidler is a Fox News Channel correspondent based in Islamabad.