Good to see army finally moving in to drain the swamp. I hope this time there are no peace accords & govt finally takes threat seriously does something about these terrorists.
70 militants killed in operation in Pakistan_English_Xinhua
](english.news.cn)
ISLAMABAD, April 28 (Xinhua) – As many as 70 militants have been killed in the operation against them in northwestern Pakistan, the Interior Minister Rehman Malik said on Tuesday.
Speaking to reporters here, Malik said 70 militants had been killed till now in Dir district of North West Frontier Province (NWFP) and 450 militants were still present in Buner District.
He said the militants should leave Buner District. Serious action will be taken against those who challenge the writ of the government, he said.
Pakistan Army launched an operation against militants in Dir district on Sunday as tension prevailed in some parts of NWFP including Swat valley.
Sufi Muhammad, founding chief of an outlawed organization struck a deal with NWFP government in February, according to which the government promulgated Nizam-e-Adl to enforce Shariah, or Islamic law, in Malakand division and the Taliban in Swat ceased fire.
The Taliban in early April entered Buner district from Swat and set up check points and patrolled the area with armed men. The NWFP government, Sufi and Taliban held successful talks last week and Taliban withdrew from Buner.
The army has been engaged in operation in Dir district against militants for the last few days, killing scores of militants. Sufion Monday announced talks with the government had been suspended because the operation was against the peace agreement, he believed.
^^^ I agree, but to say usual is unfair. Army is not sending suicide bombers into schools or masjids, but Taliban are doing exactly that. Therefore, the is no moral equivalency here.
We have seen reports in the past of 70 or 700 or 7,000000 "militants" killed and everytime there were no proofs of bodies and key leaders like Baitullah Mahsud and Fazlullah have always mysteriously escaped.
We will know that this is a serious operation only if Baitullah or Fazlullah are killed or captured. Otherwise, it will likely be a fake operation to please the US, leaving Talibans as strong as before.
Fighter jets and helicopter gunships launched attacks on Taliban positions in Buner today in a dramatic expansion of a military operation to halt the march of extremists out of the Taliban-controlled Swat valley.
The army sealed off roads leading to Buner ‑ a district 60 miles north-west of Islamabad ‑ as residents reported tank and troop movements into the area.
“I saw the jet planes earlier and now I can see two helicopters. They are hitting targets in the mountains close to the town,” resident Jaffar Shah told the Guardian by telephone, shortly after the attack started.
Up to 75 militants and 10 security personnel have died since the first phase of the military offensive started in nearby Lower Dir district on Sunday, the army said.
Major General Athar Abbas said the object of the Buner operation was to expel 500 militants who had illegally entered the valley in breach of a peace deal between the government and the Taliban.
“We’ll start from various positions and we’ll move forward with the help of our firepower and clear the valley of the militants,” he said.
Since invading the district last week the Taliban had kidnapped youths, stolen property, built defensive positions and punished locals for playing music in their cars, he said.
In Swat the Taliban spokesman, Muslim Khan, reacted angrily. “The Taliban are Pakistani. They can go anywhere they want,” he said.
The controversial peace deal, under which the government agreed to impose sharia law in exchange for peace, appears to be veering towards collapse.
Khan, speaking from his Swat stronghold, said he considered the agreement applied “only in Swat”, and not in the seven other districts of North West Frontier province.
If the army deployed soldiers to Swat, he added, “we will start fighting again”.
Buner, a small mountainous district tucked into north-western Pakistan, was the centre of world concerns last week when Taliban militants overran the district, ransacking foreign aid agency offices and occupying government buildings.
Although the offensive posed no direct danger to Islamabad, the proximity of the advance to the capital stoked American worries that, as Hillary Clinton put it, Pakistan posed a “mortal threat” to world security.
Under immense domestic and international pressure the military launched an operation in Lower Dir district on Sunday, attacking Taliban positions with gunships and artillery.
Today the military said that phase of the operation was nearly over. “There are a few pockets of resistance; those will also be cleared out shortly,” said Abbas, the army spokesman.
He insisted the army had a “great capacity to eliminate” the militants. “There is no reason to be worried that they can pose any kind of threat,” he said.
The Taliban ratcheted up pressure on journalists in Swat today, distributing tracts that threatened journalists who did not tell “the truth”. “Under sharia law, if you tell a lie you must be punished,” Khan said.
Buner operation has also been launched, lets hope this is a full-fledged sweep mission.
ISLAMABAD: Director-General Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) Major General Athar Abbas said on Tuesday that the government would not allow anyone to violate writ of the state adding that a major offensive has been launched to flush out militants from Buner.
Addressing a press briefing here, Major General Athar Abbas said that security forces extended an offensive against Taliban militants to Buner district, around 100 km (60 miles) north of the capital Islamabad.
“The military launched an operation at 4:00 pm today, the aim of the offensive is to eliminate and expel militants from Buner”, Abbas said.
He said the army and the Frontier Corps troops have entered Buner and IG FC is overseeing the operation. Abbas said that over 70 militants were killed in Lower Dir operation while 10 security forces personnel were martyred. Abbas said that fighter jets of PAF are also taking part in the operation.
He said over 500 militants, equipped with sophisticated communication system, are holed up in various parts of Buner who are constantly receiving money and arms from unknown sources. Buner operation launched after success in Dir
Buner is not as rugged as Swat, so i hope PA can capture/do away with many of these Anti-Pakistani elements.
You need to take some courses in dispute resolution, geopolitical sciences and contemporary social conflicts. There is nothing like " Spilling out the Solution"
Geo Political/Idelogical conflicts are complex and I Don't have time to educate you here. I am sure even if i give it my best shot.......it will end up in vain................
We are at two different levels of Intellect here.
But if I you pay me for delivering a lecture.......I would think on ** Teaching you the basic fundamentals of solving Social and Political Problems**