Islamabad - Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani
Thursday announced that nearly 2 million people displaced by the
military operation against the Taliban in the north-western region
could start returning next week.
'The displaced people will start going back from July 13 with
honour. The special support group will finalize the strategy from
today and will make a procedure for their return, security and other
arrangements,' Gilani told reporters in Islamabad.
However, the prime minister explained the military operation in
Swat would not stop completely. 'There are some areas which need more
military attention but the military action will be restricted to
these areas.'
Thousands of military and paramilitary troops launched a major
offensive against Taliban militants in late April in Swat valley and
three neighbouring districts after the Taliban violated a peace deal.
According to the United Nations, the army assault displaced more
than 1.9 million people.
Around 85 per cent of the homeless are living with relatives or in
rented houses across the country. The rest are staying in refugee
camps and are taken care of by the Pakistani government, UN agencies
and non-government agencies.
The troops regained control of much of the area from the Taliban
after eight weeks of intense fighting, eliminating over 1,700 rebels.
Some 158 soldiers died and more than 548 were wounded in the clashes.
An unknown number of surviving Taliban, including their local
leader Maulana Fazlullah, have fled to the mountains and are expected
to continue low-scale resistance.
'The way occasional terrorist actions take place in the other
parts of the country, Swat is also a part of Pakistan and some
terrorist activities will also continue to occur there,' Gilani said,
adding that the an army cantonment will be built there to ensure
security in the area.
The Swat operation enjoys vast public support and raised hopes in
Washington that Pakistan could effectively handle the problem of
extremism and terrorism.
The government forces are also preparing for an offensive in South
Waziristan, a lawless tribal district from which Taliban fighters
launch cross-border attacks on US-led international forces in
Afghanistan.
On Thursday, Pakistani jets targeted a militant hideout in the
district which is a stronghold of Taliban chief Baituallh Mehud. Five
rebels were killed in the air-raid.
Mehsud carries a five-million US bounty on his head as an al-Qaeda
facilitator. He is also believed to be behind dozens of attacks on
government and civil targets over the last two years in Pakistan.
In the neighbouring tribal district of Orakzai, military
helicopter gunships attacked five Islamist insurgent positions,
leaving six Taliban dead and around a dozen injured, a local security
official said.
The Pakistani air-strikes come as the United States has stepped up
missile attacks carried out by pilotless drone aircraft in South
Waziristan.
More than 50 militants, including 12 al-Qaeda-linked Uzbek
guerrilla fighters, died in two separate air-raids on a hill-top
militant hideout and a convoy in South Waziristan.
The premier Gilani reiterated Pakistan's protest against the
actions.
'This is our own war (against Taliban and al-Qaeda). If they (the
US) really want to help us, they should halt drone attacks,' he said
on Thursday. 'These are counter-productive.'
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