Troops struggle to regain Buner

ISLAMABAD - Director-General ISPR Maj-Gen Ather Abbas on Wednesday said foreign militants arrested by Pakistan security forces in the military operation in Malakand Division had been identified as Arabs, Afghans and Afghan Uzbeks.
“They have been arrested from different parts of Malakand Division and are being interrogated,” Gen Ather said while talking to TheNation.
He said security forces had killed 1,057 miscreants in Swat, Dir and Buner since April 27, while 58 security personnel had embraced martyrdom and 187 got injured.
Earlier, in his Press briefing, he said security forces had successfully cleared Taliban stronghold of Sultanwas, a small town in the northwest of Buner district, on Tuesday night after intense battles that resulted in killing of 80 miscreants. He said the troops had been fighting against militants in Sultanwas for some time.
Six vehicles belonging to militants and seven bombs were destroyed during the operations, he said, adding that the security forces were investigating the source who provided police-like vehicles and police uniforms to the militants. He said the security forces had also removed several landmines laid by the militants.
Answering a question, he said Pakistan was facing threats from two fronts, one from militants and other from country’s Eastern border, and Armed Forces of the country were being prepared and trained to tackle these threats.
To another question, the DG ISPR said it was still not confirmed whether Taliban leader Fazlullah had been killed during the operation, adding that the forces had targeted his hideouts.
He said that 10 to 15 per cent civilian population of Swat was still residing there and declined to unveil a time frame of the completion of the ongoing Rah-e-Rast Operation. He said the insurgency in Swat and other parts of Malakand division had started before 2007.
To yet another question, Gen Ather Abbas said all necessary steps had been taken to stop militants from fleeing to other sensitive areas, including Hazara division.
Agencies add: The government has still fully to assert control in the district of Buner, military officials told a visiting team of BBC journalists on Wednesday.
The army is conducting a big offensive against Taliban militants in Buner.
The BBC said fighting is continuing in two villages and the area is effectively a war zone. Many areas are deserted and remaining residents are shaken by curfews and power cuts.
Three weeks into the assault, the BBC says that it is clear that the Army is not in full control even if there also is little overt sign of any militant presence.
While some of Buner’s residents are starting to return in trickles - mostly farmers fearing that their crops will die - the main town of Daggar is mainly deserted, with vehicles and a fuel station destroyed.
Hospitals have remained open but power is erratic following recent fighting with the Taliban.
According to the BBC, the Army is not manning checkpoints in Buner, preferring instead to position themselves in the hills and fire warning shots at people who try to pass through during the hours of the curfew.
Meanwhile, the ISPR confirmed that the security forces have successfully secured the Binai Baba Ziarat, near Shangla, a stronghold and a main terrorist den in the area. During the operation, the terrorists suffered heavy causalities.
In Matta, the security forces after crushing stiff resistance by militants, fanned them out and took over the portions in the town.
The Army spokesman said operation was successfully underway in Peochar, Takhtaband and Kanju.
In the Piochar area, the search and destroy operations by the security forces were underway while clearance of compounds and houses in Matta is also in progress.
Search and cordon operation also continued at Kanju where three soldiers were injured during the operation.
In Takhtaband, clearance operation of the village is in progress where one soldier embraced shahadat while six others were injured.
According to a private TV channel, after encircling Mingora, the forces are advancing on the town from three directions and it is expected that soldiers would soon enter the town. Forces bombed militants hideouts in Qambar area on the outskirts of Mingora, leaving over a dozen of them dead.
In Brakot tehsil, militants attacked security forces and seven of them, including their commander, were killed in the ensuing battles. Sporadic clashes were continuing between the forces and militants in Kanju and Kozabandi areas.
Entire Swat Valley was under curfew, which is adding to the miseries of over 200,000 people still present there.
After clearing many Taliban strongholds and supply depots in Swat’s mountains, soldiers are battling militants in its towns where many thousands of civilians are believed to be hiding.
Abbas said clashes had erupted in three towns in Swat as soldiers conducted search and cordon operations.
The military wanted to finish the offensive as quickly as possible and minimise casualties among civilians who had been warned to stay away from the militants, he said.