ISLAMABAD — The Pakistani Taliban has criticized the decision to award Barack Obama the Nobel Peace Prize saying the U.S. president should have received a "villain of peace" award instead.
Taliban spokesman Azam Tariq said Wednesday the president who has beefed up the U.S. military presence in neighboring Afghanistan did not deserve the peace prize.
Tariq said Obama's "hands are tainted with the blood of thousands of human beings."
by the associated press
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Showing posts with label Pakistan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Pakistan. Show all posts
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Sunday, June 21, 2009
7 militants killed by hands Pakistan citizens' militia
ISLAMABAD (AP) — A citizens' militia trying to drive out the Taliban killed seven militants in a two-hour clash in Pakistan's troubled northwest, police said Sunday, as the president claimed the entire country backs the battle against the extremists.
Ejaz Ahmed, police chief in the Upper Dir region, said another militant was wounded in the fighting late Saturday night near the village of Patrak, about four miles (seven kilometers) east of Dir Khas, the region's main town and district headquarters.
Several civilian militias, known as lashkars, have emerged in Upper Dir since a suicide bombing on a mosque two weeks ago that was blamed on the Taliban killed at least 33 people. The militias carry out patrols and have been pursuing remnants of Taliban who had tried to expand their influence into the area.
Ahmed said scores of militants have been trapped and killed by the militias in several villages, with police cutting off escape routes. The Taliban who were killed Saturday had been trying to flee when they came across the militiamen and opened fire, he said.
"Due to heavy losses, militants have been attempting to escape the area under cover of dark, and last night's incident was one such attempt," Ahmed said. He said no civilians were killed in the fighting.
The report could not immediately be confirmed due to military restrictions on media access to the area.
In the most striking example of growing anti-Taliban sentiment, up to 1,600 tribesmen in Upper Dir cleared three villages of Taliban fighters two weeks ago, killing at least six militants.
President Asif Ali Zardari said the military has been having success against the Taliban because Pakistan's people are backing the troops.
"The operations before this were not successful because they did not have a public support," Zardari said in a speech marking what would have been the 56th birthday of his late wife, former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, who was assassinated 18 months ago.
A majority of Pakistanis oppose extremism, but the Taliban have gained influence in several areas — including Dir and Swat Valley — in recent years. The militants also have some support in tribal regions near the border with Afghanistan, where U.S. officials say they plot attacks on American troops across the border.
Previous army offensives against militants have failed to drive them out completely, and the government has struck a series of peace deals that have eventually fallen apart.
The Swat offensive seems to have enjoyed an unprecedented level of public support, but that could erode if the government is perceived to have failed more than 2 million people displaced by the fighting or if civilian casualties mount.
Troops continued Sunday to try to clear a road blocked by the Taliban in the nearby South Waziristan tribal area, where shelling and bombing of suspected militant targets has been increased and ground troops have been moving into position in the past week since the government announced the military would go after Pakistan's Taliban commander, Baitullah Mehsud.
A military statement Saturday said 37 extremists died when troops retaliated after the militants blocked the main South Waziristan road near the town of Sarwaki. They were the first militant casualties of the offensive in South Waziristan to be confirmed by the army. There was no word about further casualties in the army update on the situation Sunday.
But two intelligence officials said six suspected militants were killed when a military jet pounded their positions minutes after they fired three rockets that missed a military camp. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to speak to media.
South Waziristan is Mehsud's tribal stronghold, a chunk of the remote and rugged mountainous region along Pakistan's northwestern border with Afghanistan where heavily armed tribesmen hold sway and al-Qaida and Taliban leaders are believed to be hiding.
Pakistan is shifting the focus in its fight against militancy from the northwestern Swat Valley, where troops have been pushing Taliban fighters back for almost two months, to a new and much tougher battleground in the Afghan border region.
Washington supports both operations, and sees them as a measure of nuclear-armed Pakistan's resolve to take on a growing insurgency after years of failed military campaigns and faltering peace deals. The battle in the tribal region could also help the war in Afghanistan because the area has been used by militants to launch cross-border attacks on U.S. and other troops.
by the associated press
Ejaz Ahmed, police chief in the Upper Dir region, said another militant was wounded in the fighting late Saturday night near the village of Patrak, about four miles (seven kilometers) east of Dir Khas, the region's main town and district headquarters.
Several civilian militias, known as lashkars, have emerged in Upper Dir since a suicide bombing on a mosque two weeks ago that was blamed on the Taliban killed at least 33 people. The militias carry out patrols and have been pursuing remnants of Taliban who had tried to expand their influence into the area.
Ahmed said scores of militants have been trapped and killed by the militias in several villages, with police cutting off escape routes. The Taliban who were killed Saturday had been trying to flee when they came across the militiamen and opened fire, he said.
"Due to heavy losses, militants have been attempting to escape the area under cover of dark, and last night's incident was one such attempt," Ahmed said. He said no civilians were killed in the fighting.
The report could not immediately be confirmed due to military restrictions on media access to the area.
In the most striking example of growing anti-Taliban sentiment, up to 1,600 tribesmen in Upper Dir cleared three villages of Taliban fighters two weeks ago, killing at least six militants.
President Asif Ali Zardari said the military has been having success against the Taliban because Pakistan's people are backing the troops.
"The operations before this were not successful because they did not have a public support," Zardari said in a speech marking what would have been the 56th birthday of his late wife, former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, who was assassinated 18 months ago.
A majority of Pakistanis oppose extremism, but the Taliban have gained influence in several areas — including Dir and Swat Valley — in recent years. The militants also have some support in tribal regions near the border with Afghanistan, where U.S. officials say they plot attacks on American troops across the border.
Previous army offensives against militants have failed to drive them out completely, and the government has struck a series of peace deals that have eventually fallen apart.
The Swat offensive seems to have enjoyed an unprecedented level of public support, but that could erode if the government is perceived to have failed more than 2 million people displaced by the fighting or if civilian casualties mount.
Troops continued Sunday to try to clear a road blocked by the Taliban in the nearby South Waziristan tribal area, where shelling and bombing of suspected militant targets has been increased and ground troops have been moving into position in the past week since the government announced the military would go after Pakistan's Taliban commander, Baitullah Mehsud.
A military statement Saturday said 37 extremists died when troops retaliated after the militants blocked the main South Waziristan road near the town of Sarwaki. They were the first militant casualties of the offensive in South Waziristan to be confirmed by the army. There was no word about further casualties in the army update on the situation Sunday.
But two intelligence officials said six suspected militants were killed when a military jet pounded their positions minutes after they fired three rockets that missed a military camp. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to speak to media.
South Waziristan is Mehsud's tribal stronghold, a chunk of the remote and rugged mountainous region along Pakistan's northwestern border with Afghanistan where heavily armed tribesmen hold sway and al-Qaida and Taliban leaders are believed to be hiding.
Pakistan is shifting the focus in its fight against militancy from the northwestern Swat Valley, where troops have been pushing Taliban fighters back for almost two months, to a new and much tougher battleground in the Afghan border region.
Washington supports both operations, and sees them as a measure of nuclear-armed Pakistan's resolve to take on a growing insurgency after years of failed military campaigns and faltering peace deals. The battle in the tribal region could also help the war in Afghanistan because the area has been used by militants to launch cross-border attacks on U.S. and other troops.
by the associated press
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Pakistan says it's cutting Swat campaign
CHUPRIAL, Pakistan (AP) — Pakistan could wrap up the main phase of its anti-Taliban offensive in the Swat Valley within 10 days, a senior commander said Saturday, as the military confirmed the first kills in a new operation in the nearby tribal zone.
Pakistan is shifting the focus in its fight against militancy from the northwestern Swat Valley where troops have been pushing Taliban fighters back for almost two months to a new and much tougher battleground in the Afghan border region.
Washington supports both operations, and sees them as a measure of nuclear-armed Pakistan's resolve to take on a growing insurgency after years of failed military campaigns and faltering peace deals. The battle in the tribal region could also help the war in Afghanistan because the area has been used by militants to launch cross-border attacks on U.S. and other troops.
Maj. Gen. Sajjad Ghani, the commander of some 20,000 troops in the northern part of Swat where the area's top Taliban leader was based, told The Associated Press that some of the final strongholds were being cleared and that "high intensity" operations would end in a week to 10 days.
But stragglers could be expected to keep launching attacks on troops "for some time," he said.
"This area is the center of gravity for the terrorists," Ghani said, standing on a ridge overlooking the Piochar Valley where the Taliban leader in Swat, Maulana Fazlullah, once made his base.
"As of now, there are only pockets of resistance left. The terrorists are on the run. Command and control is in disarray. They are unable to organize an integrated response" to the army, he said.
The battle zone is strictly controlled, making it almost impossible to verify the military's description of events. Ghani spoke during a trip by a small group of journalists who were flown into the remote area by the army.
The military says it has made steady progress against the militants in Swat and surrounding districts since launching the operation in late April. Roads and some towns in the southern parts of the valley have been secured and some of more than 2 million residents displaced by the fighting will be allowed to return starting late this month, officials said.
In nearby South Waziristan, shelling and bombing of suspected militant targets has been stepped up and ground troops have been moving into position in the past week since the government announced the military would go after Pakistan's Taliban commander, Baitullah Mehsud.
South Waziristan is Mehsud's tribal stronghold, a chunk of the remote and rugged mountainous region along Pakistan's northwestern border with Afghanistan where heavily-armed tribesmen hold sway and al-Qaida and Taliban leaders are believed to be hiding.
Although the army has not announced a formal start of full-scale operations in South Waziristan, officials said troops are already occupying strategic positions. Jet fighters flattened two abandoned militant-linked seminaries and a training facility Friday — a further sign the operation was ramping up.
Two intelligence and army officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media, said there was heavy fighting Saturday in the villages of Barwand and Madijan and about 50 militants were killed — the first confirmed militant casualties of the offensive in South Waziristan.
A military statement said 37 extremists died when troops retaliated after they tried to block the main South Waziristan road near the town of Sarwaki. There was no way to reconcile the differing death tolls due to restrictions on media access to the region.
Refugees would go first to Mingora, Swat's main city, where natural gas supplies and more than 500 phone lines have been hooked up, the military said. Residents would be allowed to go home in "phases," as power and civic facilities are restored, said Fazal Karim Khattak, a senior local government official.
Refugees staying in camps south of Swat worried about what they will find when they get home.
"Of course I am happy, but I don't know whether our home is safe or it has been destroyed," said Khadija Bibi, 45, a mother of four who left her home in Kanjua near Mingora in May.
Ghani said 95 percent of the 3,860-square mile (10,000-square kilometer) area under his control has been cleared of militants and most resistance now is coming in Biha, a short valley that backs into snow-covered mountains that are limiting the Taliban's efforts to flee.
He said about 400 militants have been killed in the area during the six weeks of fighting, but that many top commanders have managed to escape, including Fazlullah, and some were possibly headed toward havens in Afghanistan or South Waziristan.
Overall, the army says it has killed nearly 1,500 militants since April in Swat.
In Bajur, another trouble spot on the border with Afghanistan, the army shelled militant hide-outs and killed seven insurgents including a local commander, Gul Zarein, government official Jamil Khan said. The military declared victory over extremists there in February, but violence has flared again.
by the associated press
Pakistan is shifting the focus in its fight against militancy from the northwestern Swat Valley where troops have been pushing Taliban fighters back for almost two months to a new and much tougher battleground in the Afghan border region.
Washington supports both operations, and sees them as a measure of nuclear-armed Pakistan's resolve to take on a growing insurgency after years of failed military campaigns and faltering peace deals. The battle in the tribal region could also help the war in Afghanistan because the area has been used by militants to launch cross-border attacks on U.S. and other troops.
Maj. Gen. Sajjad Ghani, the commander of some 20,000 troops in the northern part of Swat where the area's top Taliban leader was based, told The Associated Press that some of the final strongholds were being cleared and that "high intensity" operations would end in a week to 10 days.
But stragglers could be expected to keep launching attacks on troops "for some time," he said.
"This area is the center of gravity for the terrorists," Ghani said, standing on a ridge overlooking the Piochar Valley where the Taliban leader in Swat, Maulana Fazlullah, once made his base.
"As of now, there are only pockets of resistance left. The terrorists are on the run. Command and control is in disarray. They are unable to organize an integrated response" to the army, he said.
The battle zone is strictly controlled, making it almost impossible to verify the military's description of events. Ghani spoke during a trip by a small group of journalists who were flown into the remote area by the army.
The military says it has made steady progress against the militants in Swat and surrounding districts since launching the operation in late April. Roads and some towns in the southern parts of the valley have been secured and some of more than 2 million residents displaced by the fighting will be allowed to return starting late this month, officials said.
In nearby South Waziristan, shelling and bombing of suspected militant targets has been stepped up and ground troops have been moving into position in the past week since the government announced the military would go after Pakistan's Taliban commander, Baitullah Mehsud.
South Waziristan is Mehsud's tribal stronghold, a chunk of the remote and rugged mountainous region along Pakistan's northwestern border with Afghanistan where heavily-armed tribesmen hold sway and al-Qaida and Taliban leaders are believed to be hiding.
Although the army has not announced a formal start of full-scale operations in South Waziristan, officials said troops are already occupying strategic positions. Jet fighters flattened two abandoned militant-linked seminaries and a training facility Friday — a further sign the operation was ramping up.
Two intelligence and army officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media, said there was heavy fighting Saturday in the villages of Barwand and Madijan and about 50 militants were killed — the first confirmed militant casualties of the offensive in South Waziristan.
A military statement said 37 extremists died when troops retaliated after they tried to block the main South Waziristan road near the town of Sarwaki. There was no way to reconcile the differing death tolls due to restrictions on media access to the region.
Refugees would go first to Mingora, Swat's main city, where natural gas supplies and more than 500 phone lines have been hooked up, the military said. Residents would be allowed to go home in "phases," as power and civic facilities are restored, said Fazal Karim Khattak, a senior local government official.
Refugees staying in camps south of Swat worried about what they will find when they get home.
"Of course I am happy, but I don't know whether our home is safe or it has been destroyed," said Khadija Bibi, 45, a mother of four who left her home in Kanjua near Mingora in May.
Ghani said 95 percent of the 3,860-square mile (10,000-square kilometer) area under his control has been cleared of militants and most resistance now is coming in Biha, a short valley that backs into snow-covered mountains that are limiting the Taliban's efforts to flee.
He said about 400 militants have been killed in the area during the six weeks of fighting, but that many top commanders have managed to escape, including Fazlullah, and some were possibly headed toward havens in Afghanistan or South Waziristan.
Overall, the army says it has killed nearly 1,500 militants since April in Swat.
In Bajur, another trouble spot on the border with Afghanistan, the army shelled militant hide-outs and killed seven insurgents including a local commander, Gul Zarein, government official Jamil Khan said. The military declared victory over extremists there in February, but violence has flared again.
by the associated press
Pakistan attacts
ISLAMABAD — Ground troops moved into Taliban-controlled areas Friday and engaged in the first gunbattle of a new offensive in northwestern Pakistan, as an aerial and artillery bombardment pounded other targets.
Officials said Friday’s action did not represent the start of a full-scale operation in the tribal belt along the border with Afghanistan, but that most troops were now in place for when the orders came.
The coming operation in South Waziristan, along with one unwinding in the northwestern Swat Valley, could be a turning point in Pakistan’s yearslong and sometimes halfhearted fight against militancy.
It could also help the war effort in Afghanistan, because the tribal belt is believed to house key al-Qaida and Taliban bases.
Washington strongly supports the operations, which are seen as a test of Pakistan’s resolve.
The Swat offensive has been generally welcomed in Pakistan, but public opinion could quickly turn if the government fails to effectively help more than 2 million people displaced from their homes by the fighting, or if civilian casualties mount.
by the associated press
Officials said Friday’s action did not represent the start of a full-scale operation in the tribal belt along the border with Afghanistan, but that most troops were now in place for when the orders came.
The coming operation in South Waziristan, along with one unwinding in the northwestern Swat Valley, could be a turning point in Pakistan’s yearslong and sometimes halfhearted fight against militancy.
It could also help the war effort in Afghanistan, because the tribal belt is believed to house key al-Qaida and Taliban bases.
Washington strongly supports the operations, which are seen as a test of Pakistan’s resolve.
The Swat offensive has been generally welcomed in Pakistan, but public opinion could quickly turn if the government fails to effectively help more than 2 million people displaced from their homes by the fighting, or if civilian casualties mount.
by the associated press
Friday, June 5, 2009
U.S. aid promises Pakistan receives
SHAIKH SHAHZAD CAMP, Pakistan — Top U.S. envoy Richard Holbrooke brought promises of more American aid Thursday to sweltering camps where some of the 3 million refugees uprooted by Pakistan’s offensive against the Taliban have fled.
In conversations in tents and under thatch-roofed buildings, Holbrooke told refugees the U.S. government has asked Congress to approve another $200 million in humanitarian aid for them, on top of $110 million already promised.
The U.S. special envoy to Pakistan and Afghanistan also stressed that Washington’s role in the crisis was to help the refugees, not the military — a message aimed at quelling deep suspicions in Pakistan that the Swat Valley campaign was launched at Washington’s behest.
The U.S. strongly supports Pakistan’s month-old offensive to rout the Taliban from the Swat Valley region and sees it as a test of the government’s resolve in taking on militants elsewhere in the Afghan border region.
But that commitment could erode if the public mood turns against the government. Already unpopular, the Pakistani government’s fortunes could dwindle further if the military is blamed for unnecessary deaths or if the resettlement of refugees is handled badly.
by the associated press
In conversations in tents and under thatch-roofed buildings, Holbrooke told refugees the U.S. government has asked Congress to approve another $200 million in humanitarian aid for them, on top of $110 million already promised.
The U.S. special envoy to Pakistan and Afghanistan also stressed that Washington’s role in the crisis was to help the refugees, not the military — a message aimed at quelling deep suspicions in Pakistan that the Swat Valley campaign was launched at Washington’s behest.
The U.S. strongly supports Pakistan’s month-old offensive to rout the Taliban from the Swat Valley region and sees it as a test of the government’s resolve in taking on militants elsewhere in the Afghan border region.
But that commitment could erode if the public mood turns against the government. Already unpopular, the Pakistani government’s fortunes could dwindle further if the military is blamed for unnecessary deaths or if the resettlement of refugees is handled badly.
by the associated press
Saturday, May 9, 2009
Pakistan pledges to kick'out militants
MARDAN, Pakistan — After four sleepless nights as explosions rocked the area, Siraj Muhammad and his family joined a convoy of people fleeing Pakistan’s latest offensive against the Taliban. But the war soon caught up with them.
A shell exploded less than 30 yards from the group, killing two people and embedding shrapnel in the 19-year-mechanic, his mother and two siblings. After walking on for several miles, they flagged down a truck, joining scores of others escaping to safety over a pass.
"We had a home, we had a family, we had happiness, we had prosperity, and all we have now is tears, fear and a dark future,” he said in a refugee camp just south of the war zone. "Who is fighting for what, we do not know. We want to know who is fighting for us.”
Civilian flight
Muhammad was among the terrified civilians fleeing the Swat Valley on Friday as Pakistan’s army vowed to eliminate militants after the government announced an offensive was under way. It has drawn praise from U.S. officials alarmed at the Taliban’s recent advance to within 60 miles of the capital, Islamabad.
by the associated press
A shell exploded less than 30 yards from the group, killing two people and embedding shrapnel in the 19-year-mechanic, his mother and two siblings. After walking on for several miles, they flagged down a truck, joining scores of others escaping to safety over a pass.
"We had a home, we had a family, we had happiness, we had prosperity, and all we have now is tears, fear and a dark future,” he said in a refugee camp just south of the war zone. "Who is fighting for what, we do not know. We want to know who is fighting for us.”
Civilian flight
Muhammad was among the terrified civilians fleeing the Swat Valley on Friday as Pakistan’s army vowed to eliminate militants after the government announced an offensive was under way. It has drawn praise from U.S. officials alarmed at the Taliban’s recent advance to within 60 miles of the capital, Islamabad.
by the associated press
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
violence escalates in Pakistani
MINGORA, Pakistan — Fighting, which had been rising in Swat in recent days, escalated Tuesday in Mingora and the neighboring town of Saidu Sharif, according to Associated Press reporters and an army statement. There were no immediate reports of casualties.
Black-turbaned militants were deployed on most streets and on high buildings in Mingora, and security forces were barricaded in their bases. Khushal Khan, the top administrator in Swat, said insurgents were laying mines in the town to hinder any army advance.
Fearing that war could consume the region, thousands fled the main Swat town of Mingora on Tuesday, witnesses said.
"I do not have any destination. I only have an aim — to escape from here,” said Afzal Khan, 65, who was waiting for a bus with his wife and nine children. "It is like doomsday here.”
Late Tuesday, several dozen militants surrounded a police residential compound in Saidu Sharif after occupying the offices of the police chiefand the civil administration, said an officer who spoke on condition of anonymity.
by the associated press
Black-turbaned militants were deployed on most streets and on high buildings in Mingora, and security forces were barricaded in their bases. Khushal Khan, the top administrator in Swat, said insurgents were laying mines in the town to hinder any army advance.
Fearing that war could consume the region, thousands fled the main Swat town of Mingora on Tuesday, witnesses said.
"I do not have any destination. I only have an aim — to escape from here,” said Afzal Khan, 65, who was waiting for a bus with his wife and nine children. "It is like doomsday here.”
Late Tuesday, several dozen militants surrounded a police residential compound in Saidu Sharif after occupying the offices of the police chiefand the civil administration, said an officer who spoke on condition of anonymity.
by the associated press
Monday, May 4, 2009
Tensions ; in Pakistan
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — Pakistan’s army and the Taliban blamed each other Sunday for a rise in tensions that threatened to destroy a much-criticized peace deal, just days before the Pakistani president heads to Washington for talks with President Barack Obama.
The army accused militants in the Swat Valley of looting, attacking infrastructure and killing one soldier. A Taliban spokesman said militants will start patrolling Swat’s main town, and acknowledged they killed two soldiers as revenge for the army killing two insurgents.
What happens to the peace pact is likely to figure into talks between Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari and Obama later this week. Zardari is expected to ask for more money to help Pakistan’s battered economy and security forces.
Under February’s peace deal, the government agreed to impose Islamic law in certain areas, hoping to appease militants.
by the associated press
The army accused militants in the Swat Valley of looting, attacking infrastructure and killing one soldier. A Taliban spokesman said militants will start patrolling Swat’s main town, and acknowledged they killed two soldiers as revenge for the army killing two insurgents.
What happens to the peace pact is likely to figure into talks between Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari and Obama later this week. Zardari is expected to ask for more money to help Pakistan’s battered economy and security forces.
Under February’s peace deal, the government agreed to impose Islamic law in certain areas, hoping to appease militants.
by the associated press
Saturday, May 2, 2009
Pakistan faces uncertain future as violence increasess in region
ISLAMABAD — Soldiers sent to halt a Taliban advance toward the Pakistani capital fought their way over a mountain pass Thursday, killed at least 14 militants and narrowly escaped a wave of suicide car bombers, the army said.
As troops pursued an offensive praised by the U.S., a burst of shootings in a southern city left dozens dead and added the specter of ethnic conflict to the Islamist violence gnawing at the nuclear-armed country’s stability.
President Asif Ali Zardari urged ordinary Pakistanis to support the operation in the Buner region so the Islamic nation would remain under "a moderate, modern and democratic state.”
But there was anger and skepticism among hundreds of residents fleeing Buner on Thursday to join more than half a million others displaced by fighting that has flared across the northwestern region over the past year.
Security forces backed by artillery and warplanes began pushing into Buner on Tuesday after Taliban militants from the neighboring Swat Valley infiltrated the area under cover of a peace pact.
U.S. leaders sharply criticized Zardari’s decision to sign a law imposing Islamic law in Swat and the surrounding Malakand region in an attempt to halt two years of bloody and inconclusive fighting.
Defenders of the pact say the Islamic law concession will isolate hard-liners bent on destabilizing the country and bolster thin public support for any later crackdown.
Officials said Thursday the Islamic courts will be up and running within days, despite violence.
by the associated press
As troops pursued an offensive praised by the U.S., a burst of shootings in a southern city left dozens dead and added the specter of ethnic conflict to the Islamist violence gnawing at the nuclear-armed country’s stability.
President Asif Ali Zardari urged ordinary Pakistanis to support the operation in the Buner region so the Islamic nation would remain under "a moderate, modern and democratic state.”
But there was anger and skepticism among hundreds of residents fleeing Buner on Thursday to join more than half a million others displaced by fighting that has flared across the northwestern region over the past year.
Security forces backed by artillery and warplanes began pushing into Buner on Tuesday after Taliban militants from the neighboring Swat Valley infiltrated the area under cover of a peace pact.
U.S. leaders sharply criticized Zardari’s decision to sign a law imposing Islamic law in Swat and the surrounding Malakand region in an attempt to halt two years of bloody and inconclusive fighting.
Defenders of the pact say the Islamic law concession will isolate hard-liners bent on destabilizing the country and bolster thin public support for any later crackdown.
Officials said Thursday the Islamic courts will be up and running within days, despite violence.
by the associated press
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