Swat : Final countdown begins

[Cheetah786]

TA DA

Pakistan Taliban: Swat deal is dead

are U guys as surprise as i am.

A spokesman for the Taliban in Pakistan has told Al Jazeera that the peace deal with the government in the Swat Valley is over.

Muslim Khan blamed the breakdown of the agreement on the Pakistani military, saying government troops had killed civilians in the area.

"The military have already killed 100 women, about 150 injured, now in Mingora city," he said on Wednesday.

"How can we follow the agreement with them?"

The government had agreed a peace with the pro-Taliban groups three months ago in exchange for the enforcement of the Sharia (Islamic law) in the region.

Talks over the implementation of the deal started to falter and last month Sufi Muhammad, a regional religious leader who brokered the deal, walked away from negotiations saying the government had been dragging its feet.(next time please make sure he dosnt walk away and is carried away stop negotiating with terrorist)

Khan said the Pakistani Taliban would continue to implement the Sharia "as soon as possible".

On Tuesday thousands of people were told by authorities to flee the region, while Wednesday saw residents defying a curfew to escape fighting in parts of Pakistan's North West Frontier Province.

Kamal Hyder, Al Jazeera's Islamabad correspondent, said: "Malakan division is under curfew, many people are stuck and cannot get out to safety.

"We have been getting reports that some of the thousands defying the curfew have been fired upon, there have been a high number of causalities of people leaving.

"We saw a military convoy going towards Mingora carrying reinforcements in what appears to be the prelude in the third phase of the operation against Swat.

"People coming out of Swat are saying that their leaders have sold them to foreign powers. Very strong, emotional language from people who are running for their lives."

US-Pakistan relations

Khan also suggested that aid money from the US to the government of Asif Ali Zardari, the president, was influencing the leadership.

"Zardari just needs money. They [the US and Pakistani government] want to kill the nation. They are never thinking about the nation, the country and the Muslims," Khan said.

The statement comes as Zardari prepares to meet his counterparts from Afghanistan and the US on Wednesday to discuss how to handle the conflicts in the region.

The government has warned that up to half a million civilians could be displaced by the fighting.

Deadly clashes took place on Wednesday in Mingora, the main city in Swat, where local officials said Taliban fighters had defied curfews to occupy government buildings.

Major catastrophe

A camp has been set up for the displaced in the nearby town of Dargai.

Mian Iftikhar Hussain, North West Frontier Province's information minister, said: "In view of the situation in Swat, at least 500,000 people can migrate from that area. Camps are being established for them."

Kamal added: "This is a major catastrophe unfolding in the North West Frontier Province."

Khushal Khan, a senior administrator in Swat, also accused Taliban fighters of laying mines, making the civilian escape highly risky.

Gunfire was heard in Mingora on Wednesday, although access by the media was limited. Witness said the Taliban, identified by their black turbans, were on most streets and taking up positions on high buildings.

Fighters were also reported to have surrounded a paramilitary base at a power station in the town.

Khan said that the fighters were in control of "90 per cent" of the Swat valley.

The peace pact had alarmed US officials concerned that Swat would turn into a haven for fighters near Afghanistan, where US and Nato troops are also battling the Taliban.

Hundreds of thousands of people have fled fighting between the military and the Taliban in different parts of Pakistan's northwest since last August.

Al Jazeera English - CENTRAL/S. ASIA - Pakistan Taliban: Swat deal is dead

Anybody that brings up any kind of peace deal or any other concession for these animals regardless of age should be send back as suicide bomber to Talibans Terrorist and see how they will like our surprise.

 

[ajpirzada]

Security forces kill 64 militants in Swat, Buner ​

Wednesday, 06 May, 2009 | 05:51 PM PST | Clashes in Swat killed 37 militants while at least 27 Taliban fighters were killed in the nearby Buner district. — AP Thousands flee Swat as peace crumbles

PESHAWAR: Sixty-four militants were killed on Wednesday in fighting in northwest Pakistan’s Buner and Swat districts, security forces said.

The army said 37 militants were killed in two clashes in the Swat Valley, where a peace deal aimed at ending Taliban violence has collapsed. Two soldiers were also killed.

At least 27 militants were also killed in the nearby Buner district, the Frontier Corps said in a statement.

Clashes erupted between security forces and militants on Wednesday near an emerald mine in Mingora held by the Taliban, leaving 45 militants and 35 civilians dead, official sources told DawnNews. Militants also set two private banks on fire after looting them, the sources said.

'There were 35 militants killed in the area near the emerald mines,' Director-General Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Major General Athar Abbas told AFP.

'It was a responsive action after militants attacked troops and government buildings,' he added.

A major military offensive is likely to begin in Swat shortly with the army ready to push back militants. Gunship helicopters were already pounding militant hideouts in the district's Mingora city, DawnNews reported.

Reinforcements have already been deployed in the valley, according to local citizens, prompting speculation that action is imminent.

On Tuesday, thousands of residents fled Swat following a government request to evacuate the area in preparation for a fresh offensive against Taliban militants.

'More than 40,000 have migrated from Mingora since Tuesday afternoon,’ said Khushhal Khan, the chief administration officer in Swat.

The February peace deal lies in tatters, and militants have captured several important government buildings in Mingora, 80 miles northwest of Islamabad, and have taken up positions on rooftops, Reuters said.

DawnNews quoted residents as saying that the Taliban have come down from hilltops and are occupying local homes. In addition, they have begun stopping people from leaving the valley and intend to use them as human shields.

Reuters reported some residents of Mingora saying they faced dwindling supplies of food and were desperate to get out.

‘We are very scared. We want to go as soon as possible but can’t because of curfew,’ said grocery shop worker Gul Nazir.

‘We’re running out of food. We don’t know what to do.’

Operation in Buner kills another 27 militants

Pakistani artillery bombarded militant positions in Pir Baba and Sultanwas areas of Buner district, 60 miles northwest of Islamabad, on Wednesday, killing 27 militants and destroying eight vehicles, military sources and Frontier Corps were quoted as saying.

‘Today artillery engaged militant locations at Pir Baba Ziarat and Sultanwas areas. About 27 militants got killed and eight vehicles got destroyed,’ the Frontier Corps said in a statement.

On April 28, Pakistan launched an offensive in Buner to flush out advancing armed Taliban fighters.

More than 200 militants have been killed in the operation, official sources said. However, it has not been possible to confirm death tolls independently, as the terrain is remote and largely cut off.

Calling for action

The drawn-out conflict and economic woes of the country have led many experts to question the ability of the government in Islamabad to tackle the threat posed by militants.

‘Pakistan must demonstrate its commitment to rooting out al Qaeda and the violent extremists within its borders,’ Richard Holbrooke, US special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, said in congressional testimony on Tuesday.

With worry intensifying, security forces launched an offensive to expel militants from Buner and another district on April 26. About 180 militants have been killed, according to the military, although there has been no independent confirmation, Reuters reported.

At the upcoming tripartite Washington talks, Obama will present Zardari and Karzai with his strategy for defeating al Qaeda. Zardari will stress his government is on the right track and needs help.

Critics says Pakistan has been in denial about the Taliban threat in a country where old rival India has long been the enemy and some militants have been used as ‘strategic assets.’

DAWN.COM | Provinces | Security forces kill 64 militants in Swat, Buner

 

[HAIDER]

This Bostonian painter Muslim khan need good dip in black paint. He already started typical propaganda, women and children died in operation, like Swat has no militant. What a stupid mullah..