Army says Pakistanis form militias to expel Taliban
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Reuter
May 22, 2009
By Mian Khursheed
KHWAZAKHELA, Pakistan (Reuters) - Pakistani tribesmen near the Swat valley are raising militias to prevent the Taliban from expanding their influence in the region, a senior military commander said on Friday.
Pakistani military launched an offensive in the scenic valley and neighboring districts this month to stop a widening Taliban insurgency that had raised fears for nuclear-armed Pakistan's future.
Pakistani officials say more than 1,000 militants and more than 50 soldiers have been killed in the fighting that has driven about two million people out of their homes in the biggest ever displacement in Pakistan's 61 years of nationhood.
Major-General Sajjad Ghani, who is leading the offensive in the upper part of Swat valley, said people in neighboring Kalam valley and Lower Dir district were raising their own militias, commonly known as lashkars, to confront the militants.
"They are resolutely defending against the advance of the Taliban. That's the silver lining that I can see," he told reporters during a trip to Swat arranged by the military.
In a sign of growing hostility, villagers in Kalam and Lower Dir have tried to expel the gunmen.
Several people were killed or wounded in a clash between armed villagers and Taliban fighters in Kalam on Thursday, provincial assembly member Jafar Shah told Reuters.
Villagers had made a similar stand in parts of Lower Dir, to the west of Swat, and the Taliban had pulled out of some areas, a provincial government official there said.
"Today they stand isolated, not only in the valley but also at the national scene. I think this is a big achievement of the government as well as the military," military spokesman Major-General Athar Abbas said.
Politicians and members of the public broadly back the military offensive in Swat but analysts say support could quickly disappear if many civilians are killed or if the displaced languish in misery.
Ghani said civilian casualties were "less than double figures" in areas under his command.
Source
May 22, 2009
By Mian Khursheed
KHWAZAKHELA, Pakistan (Reuters) - Pakistani tribesmen near the Swat valley are raising militias to prevent the Taliban from expanding their influence in the region, a senior military commander said on Friday.
Pakistani military launched an offensive in the scenic valley and neighboring districts this month to stop a widening Taliban insurgency that had raised fears for nuclear-armed Pakistan's future.
Pakistani officials say more than 1,000 militants and more than 50 soldiers have been killed in the fighting that has driven about two million people out of their homes in the biggest ever displacement in Pakistan's 61 years of nationhood.
Major-General Sajjad Ghani, who is leading the offensive in the upper part of Swat valley, said people in neighboring Kalam valley and Lower Dir district were raising their own militias, commonly known as lashkars, to confront the militants.
"They are resolutely defending against the advance of the Taliban. That's the silver lining that I can see," he told reporters during a trip to Swat arranged by the military.
In a sign of growing hostility, villagers in Kalam and Lower Dir have tried to expel the gunmen.
Several people were killed or wounded in a clash between armed villagers and Taliban fighters in Kalam on Thursday, provincial assembly member Jafar Shah told Reuters.
Villagers had made a similar stand in parts of Lower Dir, to the west of Swat, and the Taliban had pulled out of some areas, a provincial government official there said.
"Today they stand isolated, not only in the valley but also at the national scene. I think this is a big achievement of the government as well as the military," military spokesman Major-General Athar Abbas said.
Politicians and members of the public broadly back the military offensive in Swat but analysts say support could quickly disappear if many civilians are killed or if the displaced languish in misery.
Ghani said civilian casualties were "less than double figures" in areas under his command.
Source
Labels: Militia, Swat Operation, Taliban, Terrorism
posted @ 9:34 AM,
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