Eideard

Army troops on patrol in Mingora
Daylife/AP Photo used by permission

Pakistan’s operation against Taliban rebels in the Swat valley region should be over in the next few days, the country’s defence secretary has said.

Syed Athar Ali told a meeting of Asian nations in Singapore that only “5% to 10% of the job” remains. But an army spokesman said it was not possible to predict when the military operation would be completed…

The army has said it will pursue “hardcore” rebels after recapturing Mingora, the main city in Swat. Mingora was home to 300,000 people before the fighting began…

“The main cities in the Swat valley stand clear today. The operation is being conducted in the countryside to the right and left of the valley and to the North… so the operation is ongoing and it will take a little more time,” army spokesman Maj Gen Athar Abbas told the BBC.

But while Maj Gen Abbas said the remaining militants were being hunted down, he could not confirm when the army’s operation in the area would be complete.

“It’s difficult to give a timeline because this is an elusive enemy that has strongholds in the countryside,” he said…

Soldiers continued to patrol Mingora’s largely deserted streets on Saturday, securing neighbourhoods and checking houses for booby-traps.

Pakistan has increased its reward for the capture of the Taliban leader in Swat, Maulana Fazlullah, to $600,000. The radical cleric is believed to be the architect of a two-year uprising in the valley aimed at enforcing Islamic law.

News coverage makes it seem easy; but, now the hard part begins. All the qualities of life a government should provide to its citizens – some of which was offered by the Taliban in the absence of government responsibility – must now flow into the region.

Every penny promised by external exchequers must be delivered in a timely fashion. Otherwise, this will be even less than a hollow victory.