Pakistan to unleash troops against Taliban

Washington Post

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — Pakistan’s prime minister told the nation Thursday that the armed forces were being “called in to eliminate the militants and terrorists” who have forcibly occupied part of the country’s northwest, sending thousands of civilians fleeing from the region in the past week.

Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gillani’s announcement, made in a late-night, televised address, signaled the final collapse of a fragile peace accord between the government and Taliban forces in the Swat region. It also represented the civilian government’s formal green light for a full-fledged offensive by the military, which until now has been fighting only sporadically.

Gillani called on all Pakistanis to unite behind the armed forces “to restore the honor and dignity” of the nation, the safety of citizens and the writ of the government. “We will defend every inch of our homeland at any cost,” he declared.

Gillani’s address came on another day of intense but scattered clashes. Military officials said the army and other security forces had attacked militant positions with warplanes, attack helicopters and tanks. They said they killed at least 80 Taliban fighters in Swat and Buner districts, and nine soldiers died in an ambush and in other attacks. A son of a senior Islamist leader in Swat, Sufi Mohammed, also was reported to have been killed by army shelling.

Gillani spoke here as Pakistan’s president, Asif Ali Zardari, was finishing several days of talks in Washington with senior U.S. officials and leaders from neighboring Afghanistan in an effort to find a common strategy against the Islamic extremism that is afflicting both countries.

The announcement also came amid a massive exodus of civilians from the areas of Swat, Buner and Dir, where Taliban extremist forces have occupied villages and towns, attacked schools and police and terrorized the populace while trying to spread their radical version of Islam.

Gillani said the government has allocated $13 million to assist people fleeing the area, in addition to assistance that is coming from the U.N. refugee agency and other charities. Camps have been set up in safe areas near the conflict zones, although the Taliban have blocked roads with trees and other barricades to prevent people from reaching them.