World | Pakistan
Army hopes to end Swat mission in 10 days
Pakistan could wrap up the main phase of its anti-Taliban offensive in the Swat Valley within 10 days, a senior commander said, as the military confirmed the first kills in a new operation in the nearby tribal zone.
- AP
- Published: 23:07 June 21, 2009
Chuprial: Pakistan could wrap up the main phase of its anti-Taliban offensive in the Swat Valley within 10 days, a senior commander said, 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 US 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, said on Saturday 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 centre 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 organise 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.
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