Pakistan and taliban

01.06.09 - Pakistan - Author: asia news ia - Comments: (0)

Taliban rebels were driven out of Mingora on Saturday by Pakistan government troops.

The defence secretary says operations in the whole Swat valley region should end in the next few days, though military chiefs are more cautious.

A BBC correspondent who went to Mingora has reported widespread damage.

Rifatullah Orakzai, reporting for the BBC’s Urdu Service, said that all the buildings and shops in the town square had been completely destroyed.

However, local people have now been able to seek supplies in the town’s market after the lifting of a curfew.

Pakistan’s army said essential services were being restored to the city.

The International Red Cross said it was “gravely concerned” by the humanitarian situation in Swat.

Water and electricity were not available, there was no fuel for generators, most medical facilities had stopped operating and food was scarce, it said.

Earlier, the Pakistani Defence Minister, Syed Athar Ali, told a meeting of Asian nations in Singapore that only “5% to 10% of the job” of clearing the Taliban from the Swat valley remained.

The army has said it will pursue “hardcore” rebels after recapturing Mingora, the main town in Swat.

Mingora was home to 300,000 people before the fighting began.

“The main cities in the Swat valley stand clear today. The operation is being conducted in the countryside to the right and left of the valley and to the North… so the operation is ongoing and it will take a little more time,” army spokesman Maj Gen Athar Abbas told