By Emal Pashtunyar
Special to Korea Times

ISLAMABAD ― As US Democratic presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama prepares to move into the White House, Pakistanis believe an Obama win would be due to their country's front-line status in the U.S.'s 7 year-old global war against terror.

While Obama's latest statement regarding Kashmir and the 50-year-old dispute between nuclear-armed South Asian neighbors Pakistan and India is encouraging for most Pakistanis, his assertion regarding all-out action against Taliban and al-Qaeda members hiding in Pakistani tribal areas are quite disturbing for the people and government of that country.

Being the main U.S. ally in its war against terror, Pakistan is facing the brunt of suicide attacks that kill off its soldiers during fighting with militants in its tribal areas, kidnappings of officials, school and hospital burnings and a constant threat to cities like Peshawar and Islamabad from the emboldened enemy.

Bordering war-stricken Afghanistan, where more than 50,000 international forces are stationed to curb insurgency, Pakistani tribal areas have become safe havens for remnants of the Taliban and al-Qaeda left since the overthrow of the hard-line Afghani regime in late 2001.

In the years after 2001, both NATO-led international forces and the Afghan government remained silent over the presence of al-Qaeda and Taliban in Pakistani tribal areas. However, they started clamoring over cross-border infiltration following an increase in Taliban attacks in Afghanistan and a growing number of casualties among US and NATO forces.

As the security situation worsened in Afghanistan in 2007 with increased insurgencies and decreased law and order in the war-shattered country, U.S. and NATO military forces commenced direct attacks in Pakistani tribal areas while pushing the Pakistani government to "do more."

At least 5 missile attacks were launched by U.S. spy planes in the area, also known as the Federally Administered Tribal Areas, or FATA, in 2007. However, in 2008, the tally has reached 17 with more to come in the months ahead.

While Pakistan has time and again lodged formal and informal protests against the U.S. government over the attacks, which often result in civilian losses, the latter continued targeting suspected Taliban and al-Qaeda centers and training facilities, resulting in strained ties between the two governments in recent months.

Nuclear-armed Pakistan, which faces threats from the Taliban and al-Qaeda to its cities, has never been a topic of interest during any U.S. election as it has during the current Obama-McCain contest, because both of them consider the country the next front of the global war against terror.

With Obama likely to win the race to White House, analysts in Pakistan expect hard times for the terrorists, extremists and militants operating with impunity.

To them, Obama's statement of "going all-out" to eliminate al-Qaeda and Taliban in the Pakistani tribal areas is an alarm signal both for the terrorists as well as the Pakistani government, which is under immense pressure from its people over the violation of Pakistani air space by U.S. spy planes.

U.S. interests can be gauged by the recent visit of chief of U.S. Central Command General David Howell Petraeus days after his stepping into the top military office.

Petraeus, along with U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Richard Boucher, met the Pakistani president, premier and army chief to discuss the security situation in the region and the two countries' efforts against the Taliban and al-Qaeda .

Commenting on the change of command in the White House vis-a-vis the situation in Pakistani tribal areas, Pakistan's ambassador to the United States, Hussain Haqqani, termed it a "process of change".

In a television interview, Haqqani said the process of change has started as there is a new military chief, new intelligence chief and a democratically elected government in Pakistan. The military is now listening to the civilian government and a briefing to parliament by the army's top brass on the security situation is an example of that, he said.

"Terrorists will be in deep trouble" because of the close relations among Pakistan, Afghanistan and the United States, said Haqqani, pointing out that it was the joint responsibility of the three sides to guard the rugged border between Pakistan and Afghanistan.

The previous Pakistani government remained under pressure from the U.S. during the last year of the Bush administration, which was pressing Pakistan to do more. It was the same pressure, as well as drone attacks, that strained ties between the U.S. and the incumbent Pakistani government.

With Obama taking charge of the White House and Petraeus becoming commander of the Central Command, Pakistanis believe changes were in the offing in U.S. policy to curb militancy.

Obama's speeches during his campaign suggest that he was going to adopt an aggressive policy against the Taliban and al-Qaeda in the Pakistani tribal areas, alongside increasing support for the Pakistani government, to win its confidence.

``There may be some change in the modus operandi, but no big change can be expected," said Pakistani journalist Javid Afridi. He said U.S. policies do not change with changing faces in the White House and the war against terror will continue with the same intensity and in the same direction.