The more than 30,000 troops deployed for the South Waziristan offensive are reportedly locked in fierce battles with the Taliban.

Military officials say the fighting is mainly centred on the Taliban stronghold of Kotkai, the hometown of both Taliban leader Hakimullah Mehsud and another senior commander, Qari Hussain.

The army originally claimed it had captured Kotkai, but it later faced a strong counter-attack by the Taliban.

It is near to impossible to independently verify the news from the battleground, as most reporters have left the area.

Officials say the military used fighter jets to support its advance. About 10,000 Taliban fighters are thought to be defending their haven in South Waziristan, a tribal border area which they have effectively ruled for the last years.

Moderate university attacked in Islamabad

Meanwhile, on Tuesday in Islamabad, the International Islamic University was attacked by two suicide bombers. It is one of the leading academic institutions in the country and has over 12,000 students, nearly half of them female.

Observers think its comparatively moderate approach to education might have made it the target of fundamentalist militants.

“There were two blasts, one in the cafeteria of the women's campus and one in an academic block of the men's campus. They happened within five minutes of one another," explained one student.

Six people, including the attackers, were killed in the explosions, officials said. About 20 more were wounded.

The attack on the university came as many schools across the country, particularly in the big cities, were shut out of fear of attacks.

Lapse in security

Home Minister Rehman Malik admitted that the attack in Islamabad had been made possible by a security lapse and said he had called for a meeting of all vice chancellors and principles to discuss the matter.

“We'll have another look at the security of colleges and schools and enhance it. If we find that things are getting worse or threat levels are rising, we'll consider closing them down."

The population in Islamabad is getting more nervous by the day. Citizens are not reassured by the dozens of checkpoints across the city.

“There should have been a proper plan,” said one Islamabad inhabitant. “Day by day, there are these bomb explosions, in which not only security forces, but also innocent citizens die."

"There's no security worth the name!" complained another.

It appears that by shifting the target of their terrorist attacks from the police and army to schools and universities, the militants are raising the stakes in their conflict with Islamabad, holding the civilian population hostage.

Author: Thomas Bärthlein
Editor: Anne Thomas