Pakistan troops seize control of key town in Buner

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BUNER: Pakistani troops took the main town in a key northwestern valley after being dropped by helicopters behind Taliban lines, a military
spokesman said on the second day of an offensive on Wednesday. ( Watch )

The spokesman said troops had secured Daggar town in Buner valley and linked up with police and officers from the Frontier Constabulary militia.

The Taliban's entry into a region just 100 km (60 miles) northwest of Islamabad earlier this month had sent shivers through Pakistan and sparked alarm in the United States.

Pakistan is acting under intense US pressure to take a tougher line against Islamist militants expanding from strongholds along the Afghan border, where al-Qaida leaders including Osama bin Laden may also be hiding.

In recent days, government forces have begun trying to drive the Taliban back into the Swat Valley, from where they had pushed out under cover of a creaking peace pact struck in February.

Helicopters dropped troops near Daggar, the main town in the Buner district, and in neighbouring areas early on Wednesday morning, an army statement said.

The commandos secured the town and were linking up with police and paramilitary troops already in the area, the statement said.

It didn't say how many troops were involved or whether they clashed with militants who overran the district earlier this month.

Pakistan troops seize control of key town in Buner - Pakistan - World - The Times of India

 

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JI wants operations in Dir, Buner stopped

BATKHELA: Former senior minister and Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) provincial chief Sirajul Haq on Wednesday said the government had launched military operations in Dir and Buner districts at the behest of the US and no political party was taken into confidence.

Addressing a press conference after a meeting of JI Malakand Ameers here, he alleged the rulers were playing the role of agents of the US and the UK to get dollars. Former ministers Shah Raz Khan, Hussain Ahmed Kanju, former MNAs Fazal Subhan and Bakhtiar Maani were also present on the occasion.

“We had made it clear to the government during the All Parties Conference at the Frontier House recently that there was no need for a military operation in Malakand division but despite that, security forces were sent to Buner and Dir Lower districts. Federal and provincial governments are equally responsible for the worst law and order in the country, particularly in the Fata and the NWFP,” the JI leader said.

The JI leader urged the Tanzim Nifaz Shariat-e-Muhammadi chief to accelerate efforts for restoration of peace in the area, pledging that the JI would extend full cooperation to the movement in this connection. The JI leader also demanded of the government to halt the military operation in the Malakand division and take steps for the rehabilitation of displaced people.’

JI wants operations in Dir, Buner stopped

 

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Six injured admitted to Mardan hospital

MARDAN: Six persons, including four women and two children, injured in the ongoing military operation in Ambela area of the Buner district were brought to the District Headquarters Hospital here on Wednesday.

Sources said that the injured identified as Khadina, Kishwara, Sawaira, Sima, Jalal and Reema sustained injuries in the operation in Buner. Hospital authorities said that arrangements had been made at the District Headquarters Hospital in the wake of the operation in Buner and Dir districts.

Meanwhile, Mardan Divisional Commissioner Khalid Khan Umarzai said that camps were set up at Jalala village and Sheikh Shehzad Town for the internally- displaced persons (IDPs) from Buner and Dir. Addressing a meeting of officials of various departments at his office, he said that food and clean drinking water would be provided to the IDPs in the camps.

Later, officials of the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) also held a meeting with the commissioner. The Mardan Range deputy inspector general of police, district coordination officers, district police officers and other officials attended the meeting.

Likewise, the Society for the Protection of the Rights of Child Mardan decided at a meeting to provide facilities, including toys, books, foods and medicines, to the children of the IDPs from Buner and Dir in the camps.

Buner operation