ISLAMABAD – The Taliban urged civilians yesterday to return to the main town in Pakistan’s Swat Valley, promising they won’t attack security forces battling insurgents there but stopping short of calling the move a cease-fire.
The army has already ruled out halting its operation in the valley, saying such an announcement was a sign that the outnumbered insurgents were ‘staring defeat in the face.’
Pakistan began the month-old offensive against militants in Swat and surrounding areas after they ignored the terms of a peace deal. US and other Western allies have hailed the operation amid worries the country was not doing enough to root out militants who use its soil to stage attacks across the border in Afghanistan.
Taliban spokesman Muslim Khan framed the militants’ decision to stop attacking troops in Mingora town as due to concern for the safety of civilians and property.
‘I would like to appeal to the people of Mingora to get back to their homes and start their routine life as we will not fire even a single shot,’ Khan told The Associated Press in a phone call from an undisclosed location.
Asked if that meant a cease-fire, he added, ‘No, this is not like that. Our aides will remain there in Mingora, but we will not attack, we will not fire shots.’
The army says it secured several major intersections in Mingora, an urban center that under normal circumstances has at least 375 000 residents. Many of the extremists were fleeing Mingora for Kabal, a town to the west, but security forces are trying to secure that locality as well, an army statement said yesterday. – Nampa-AP
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