Security
Pakistan: Swat Taliban leader vows to seize assets of pro-army 'traitors'
Mingora, 21 July (AKI) - By Syed Saleem Shahzad - As thousands of people continued to return to Pakistan's troubled northwest Swat region, local Taliban chief Mullah Fazlullah vowed to seize property belonging to families who have backed the ongoing military operation in Swat.
Militant sources told Adnkronos International they have been waiting for the refugees to return to Swat so they can use them as human shields against the military.
The militants have also been waiting for the onset of winter when snowfalls will cut off military supplies, the sources said
“Once these two things happen, militants will once again occupy 90 percent of the valley,” a militant told AKI.
According to the Pakistani military, more than 2,000 Taliban have been killed and the local Taliban have been completely defeated in the three-month-long offensive to quash insurgents in the restive region.
Some three million people fled the conflict, which began earlier this year in Swat district and spread to the neighbouring districts of Buner and Lower Dir. Militants are fighting to introduce strict Islamic law in Swat and several surrounding areas.
Earlier this month, the Pakistani army said Fazlullah had been seriously injured in the military offensive and another militant leader, Abu Jandal, had been killed.
But residents of Mingora, the largest town in Swat said Fazlullah had been heard last week making illegal FM radio transmissions. It could not be confirmed if the broadcast was a live or a pre-recorded one. Some residents were quoted as saying Fazlullah sounded unwell in the broadcast and that his voice lacked its previous energy.
Pakistani military forces reportedly killed over suspected 50 Islamist militants in a two-day battle on Sunday and Monday in the Lower Dir district.
The Taliban however claimed their command and control structure had remained by and large intact during the military operation in the northwest.
Only two Taliban commanders, Daud and Shah Doran, had been killed, while command of the Swat militants is in the hands of Bin Yameen, according to the Taliban.
The Pakistani army earlier claimed Yameen had died in the military operation.
Militant sources told Adnkronos International they have been waiting for the refugees to return to Swat so they can use them as human shields against the military.
The militants have also been waiting for the onset of winter when snowfalls will cut off military supplies, the sources said
“Once these two things happen, militants will once again occupy 90 percent of the valley,” a militant told AKI.
According to the Pakistani military, more than 2,000 Taliban have been killed and the local Taliban have been completely defeated in the three-month-long offensive to quash insurgents in the restive region.
Some three million people fled the conflict, which began earlier this year in Swat district and spread to the neighbouring districts of Buner and Lower Dir. Militants are fighting to introduce strict Islamic law in Swat and several surrounding areas.
Earlier this month, the Pakistani army said Fazlullah had been seriously injured in the military offensive and another militant leader, Abu Jandal, had been killed.
But residents of Mingora, the largest town in Swat said Fazlullah had been heard last week making illegal FM radio transmissions. It could not be confirmed if the broadcast was a live or a pre-recorded one. Some residents were quoted as saying Fazlullah sounded unwell in the broadcast and that his voice lacked its previous energy.
Pakistani military forces reportedly killed over suspected 50 Islamist militants in a two-day battle on Sunday and Monday in the Lower Dir district.
The Taliban however claimed their command and control structure had remained by and large intact during the military operation in the northwest.
Only two Taliban commanders, Daud and Shah Doran, had been killed, while command of the Swat militants is in the hands of Bin Yameen, according to the Taliban.
The Pakistani army earlier claimed Yameen had died in the military operation.
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