Under great pressure from the United States to attack Taliban and tribal fighters in the border regions with Afghanistan, Pakistan has launched a large-scale assault on the tribal region in the northwest of the country. Embroiled in a deep civil crisis, the military campaign is likely to further strain the stability of the U.S.-client state.

According to the New York Times, the Obama administration rushed hundreds of millions of dollars of arms to Pakistan in the last month, including transport helicopters, spare parts for attack helicopters and night-vision equipment for F15 pilots. The Pentagon is also relaying targeting information collected by U.S. drone aircraft to the Pakistani military.

In the past eight months, the U.S. has doubled the number of military advisers in Pakistan.