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Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Statement:2009
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Date
Incidents
January - 16 
Owais Ahmad Ghani, the Governor of North West Frontier Province (NWFP), is reported to have told a delegation of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) in Peshawar on January 16 that there are approximately 15,000 militants in the tribal belt, who have no dearth of ration, ammunition and equ
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Owais Ahmad Ghani, the Governor of North West Frontier Province (NWFP), is reported to have told a delegation of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) in Peshawar on January 16 that there are approximately 15,000 militants in the tribal belt, who have no dearth of ration, ammunition and equipment. The Governor said that a militant was normally given PKR 6,000 to PKR 8,000 per month while their leaders got PKR 20,000 to 30,000 per month.
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January - 18 
The federal and NWFP Governments will use their powers to ensure that the girls’ schools affected by the Taliban in Swat are reopened by March 1, Information Minister Sherry Rehman said on January 18, Daily Times reported. Talking to reporters in Karachi, she said the Government would also ensure pr
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The federal and NWFP Governments will use their powers to ensure that the girls’ schools affected by the Taliban in Swat are reopened by March 1, Information Minister Sherry Rehman said on January 18, Daily Times reported. Talking to reporters in Karachi, she said the Government would also ensure protection of all female students in Swat and all other restive areas. “Along with our ally in the NWFP, the Awami National Party, we will get the girls schools reopened. No ‘non-state actor’ will be allowed to burn female educational institutions,” Sherry told reporters.
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January - 20 
President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani tasked ally Maulana Fazlur Rehman to aid talks between the Government and the Taliban in Swat during a meeting on January 20, Daily Times reported. “Force is being used as a last option,” a private TV channel quoted President Zardari a
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President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani tasked ally Maulana Fazlur Rehman to aid talks between the Government and the Taliban in Swat during a meeting on January 20, Daily Times reported. “Force is being used as a last option,” a private TV channel quoted President Zardari as saying. According to the channel, the leaders discussed national and regional security and “other important matters” in the meeting at the President’s House that also included Interior Adviser Rehman Malik. Another news channel, however, said Fazlur Rehman, the chief of his own faction of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam, had denied he was assigned such a task but said he would play his part in the peace efforts if he was given the responsibility.
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January - 20 
The NWFP Chief Minister Ameer Haider Khan Hoti offered dialogue to the Taliban on January 20 to restore peace in the troubled areas. He said the dialogue offer was still intact, asking the Taliban to come to negotiate without weapons as problems could not be solved by force.
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The NWFP Chief Minister Ameer Haider Khan Hoti offered dialogue to the Taliban on January 20 to restore peace in the troubled areas. He said the dialogue offer was still intact, asking the Taliban to come to negotiate without weapons as problems could not be solved by force.
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January - 22 
ISPR Director General, Major General Athar Abbas, said on January 22 that the peace deal signed with the Taliban in Swat has provided them an opportunity to re-emerge in the area, and the Sharia (Islamic law) imposed by them is terrorism. Talking to a private TV channel, Abbas said the Taliban had r
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ISPR Director General, Major General Athar Abbas, said on January 22 that the peace deal signed with the Taliban in Swat has provided them an opportunity to re-emerge in the area, and the Sharia (Islamic law) imposed by them is terrorism. Talking to a private TV channel, Abbas said the Taliban had regrouped in Swat as the SFs had changed their strategy after the peace deal, Daily Times reported. He said the Government’s writ was intact in the areas where SFs were present.
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January - 23 
In an improvised explosive device attack in the Takhtaband area of Mingora town in Swat District on January 23, three civilians, including a woman, were killed and a soldier sustained injuries, The News reported. The militants reportedly intended to target a convoy of the Security Forces but failed
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In an improvised explosive device attack in the Takhtaband area of Mingora town in Swat District on January 23, three civilians, including a woman, were killed and a soldier sustained injuries, The News reported. The militants reportedly intended to target a convoy of the Security Forces but failed in their bid. The Taliban claimed responsibility and warned of more attacks. "As long as bullets are fired at us, such attacks will continue to take place," a spokesman for the Swat chapter of the banned Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan threatened.
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January - 23 
NWFP Minister for Science and Technology addressed a press conference in Gul Kada in Swat on January 23, reiterating the Government’s resolve to give amnesty to those laying down their arms. Ayub Asharay said that the Government was ready to announce a general amnesty if the militants abandoned thei
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NWFP Minister for Science and Technology addressed a press conference in Gul Kada in Swat on January 23, reiterating the Government’s resolve to give amnesty to those laying down their arms. Ayub Asharay said that the Government was ready to announce a general amnesty if the militants abandoned their armed movement and stopped challenging the writ of the Government.
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January - 26 
A day after 43 officials were summoned to Taliban courts for opposing the group, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said on January 26 that a parallel Taliban judiciary is unacceptable, Daily Times reported. “We will not accept a policy like this,” Gilani told reporters after attending the inaugural
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A day after 43 officials were summoned to Taliban courts for opposing the group, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said on January 26 that a parallel Taliban judiciary is unacceptable, Daily Times reported. “We will not accept a policy like this,” Gilani told reporters after attending the inaugural session of a conference in Islamabad. He admitted that the situation in Swat and Balochistan was not normal, but said he had sought a report on developments in these areas to make future plans. On January 25, the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Swat chapter, had issued a list of 47 ‘wanted persons’, including former and serving federal and provincial ministers, incumbent Members of National Assembly and Members of Provincial Assembly, deputy parliamentary leader of the PML-Q in the National Assembly, district Nazim and other prominent political and social figures, asking them to appear before the Taliban court or face dire consequences. “The decision was taken at a Shura meeting with Maulana Fazlullah in the chair. Around 50 members of the Shura participated in the meeting and there was consensus on the names of 45-47 people declared as wanted for opposing the Taliban. All of them will have to appear before the Taliban court, otherwise they will face action,” Swat TTP spokesman Muslim Khan told The News by phone from an undisclosed location.
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January - 27 
The authorities have imposed an indefinite curfew in the main city of Swat, said a statement by the army’s media centre on January 27 - hours after the Security Forces (SFs) launched the third phase of a military operation in the valley, Daily Times reported. Military sources said the third phase of
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The authorities have imposed an indefinite curfew in the main city of Swat, said a statement by the army’s media centre on January 27 - hours after the Security Forces (SFs) launched the third phase of a military operation in the valley, Daily Times reported. Military sources said the third phase of Operation Rah-e-Haq had been launched in light of a list released by the Taliban which contains names of officials ‘wanted’ by the group. After the operation began – five civilians were killed by artillery and mortar fire. Locals said a man, a woman and three children were killed when mortar shells hit four houses in Mangalawar area of Charbagh sub-division in the night of January 26 as SFs targeted Taliban positions. After the start of the intensified operation late on January 26, official sources and locals told Daily Times on January 27 that the Government had already imposed curfews in Nengolai, Bara, Koza Banadai, Shakar Dara and Charbagh towns for an indefinite period, and issued shoot-at-sight orders for violators. The curfew in Mingora was imposed after about 100-150 Taliban militants stormed the streets of the town displaying arms. While no violence was reported, a private TV channel said the Taliban had taken over bus stands in Mingora town.
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January - 28 
16 more people, including seven militants, were killed and 23 others injured in the Swat District on January 28, even as Army Chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani vowed to establish the writ of the Government, The News reported. On the eve of the COAS’s visit to Swat, the military spokesman, Major
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16 more people, including seven militants, were killed and 23 others injured in the Swat District on January 28, even as Army Chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani vowed to establish the writ of the Government, The News reported. On the eve of the COAS’s visit to Swat, the military spokesman, Major Nasir Ali said the military operation would be “decisive and final” and the militants would be completely crushed, while their strongholds would be destroyed or captured. The spokesman claimed that Security Forces (SFs) had killed seven militants and injured 11 others in Manglawar and Sanghota towns during a ground action backed by helicopters. “The two were strongholds of the militants but we have completely secured them now,” he claimed. Earlier, General Kayani made an unannounced visit to the Swat valley and issued fresh directions about the operation.
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January - 28 
Meanwhile, the Minister for Law and Parliamentary Affairs in North West Frontier Province, Malik Zafar Azam, said in Peshawar that registration of Madrassas had begun in the province and 720 religious seminaries had been registered thus far.
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Meanwhile, the Minister for Law and Parliamentary Affairs in North West Frontier Province, Malik Zafar Azam, said in Peshawar that registration of Madrassas had begun in the province and 720 religious seminaries had been registered thus far.
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January - 28 
The militants’ commander and presenter on FM Radio channel, Maulana Khalil, who recently replaced Shah Dauran, claimed to have killed 35 SF personnel in Qambar. As an indefinite curfew remained in force in Manglawar near Mingora, six people were reportedly killed for curfew violation. Those shot dea
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The militants’ commander and presenter on FM Radio channel, Maulana Khalil, who recently replaced Shah Dauran, claimed to have killed 35 SF personnel in Qambar. As an indefinite curfew remained in force in Manglawar near Mingora, six people were reportedly killed for curfew violation. Those shot dead by the SFs were reportedly attempting to migrate from the troubled area.
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January - 29 
Darra Adamkhel unit of the Tehrik-i-Taliban on January 29 issued a one-week deadline to the NWFP Government to accept their demands and in case of non-compliance they would kill the kidnapped Polish geologist. A Taliban spokesman told Dawn: "We cannot wait more as the government has taken acceptance
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Darra Adamkhel unit of the Tehrik-i-Taliban on January 29 issued a one-week deadline to the NWFP Government to accept their demands and in case of non-compliance they would kill the kidnapped Polish geologist. A Taliban spokesman told Dawn: "We cannot wait more as the government has taken acceptance of our demands (in return) for the release of Polish geologist Peter (Stanczak) very light. So, our Shura has decided to wait till Feb 4 evening for a positive reply from the government and in case of refusal we will kill him." The spokesman, who identified himself as Mohammad, said they had demanded from the Government complete withdrawal of SFs from tribal areas and release of their captured associates. He also said, "We are not interested in ransom and just want the government to accept our two longstanding demands." The Polish geologist working for the Oil and Gas Development Company Limited (OGDCL) is in the custody of the Taliban reportedly at a place near the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. He had been kidnapped from an OGDCL facility near the Jand town of Attock district in Punjab province four months ago. He had been shifted from Attock in a boat through the Indus River to Kohat and then taken by the Taliban to their hideout. The Taliban had released his video in which the victim had appealed to his Government to request Pakistan for acceptance of demands of the Taliban to save his life.
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January - 29 
Prime Minister’s Adviser on Interior Affairs Rehman Malik told the Senate on January 29 that a new strategy had been worked out to combat militancy in Swat, Dawn reported. While he did not divulge details of the new strategy, the adviser said the situation in Mingora had been brought under control i
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Prime Minister’s Adviser on Interior Affairs Rehman Malik told the Senate on January 29 that a new strategy had been worked out to combat militancy in Swat, Dawn reported. While he did not divulge details of the new strategy, the adviser said the situation in Mingora had been brought under control in four to five days through the new policy. He said the groups behind the insurgency in Swat included al Qaeda, the Tehrik-i-Taliban led by Maulana Fazlullah, Tanzeem-i-Islami, Tora Bora group and Qari Mushtaq group. He said that a Taliban ‘commander’, Qari Hussain Ahmed, ran a training camp for suicide bombers in Waziristan and Maulana Naamdaar had a role in bringing suicide bombers from Waziristan to Swat. Qari Hussain was reported killed in January 2008 when his house was destroyed in an air strike. Malik said the objective of the militants was not to enforce Sharia (Islamic law), but to destroy Pakistan. He told the Senate that around 1,200 civilians had been killed and 2,000 injured in violence, while 189 military personnel had lost their lives. He said 123 Government schools and 10 private schools had been destroyed and many CD shops and barbers’ salons set ablaze. He also said a so-called ‘Taliban court’ had ‘summoned’ 40 people.
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February - 2 
Trapped amidst clashes between the Taliban and SFs, residents in Swat have begun a mass exodus from the area. Thousands of civilians were fleeing the fighting in the valley, Reuters reported. The people leaving Swat are joining thousands of villagers who have fled fighting in other restive areas, pa
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Trapped amidst clashes between the Taliban and SFs, residents in Swat have begun a mass exodus from the area. Thousands of civilians were fleeing the fighting in the valley, Reuters reported. The people leaving Swat are joining thousands of villagers who have fled fighting in other restive areas, particularly Bajaur Agency. Government officials have blamed the militants for using villagers as human shields, The News reported. “Thousands of people are migrating from the areas of fighting because of the military operations and the militants’ use of civilians as human shields,” the Swat valley’s top administrator, Shaukat Khan Yousafzai, told Reuters.
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February - 4 
Nine members of a Bara-based militant group were killed in an encounter with the Police and the Qaumi Lashkar (militia) comprising armed villagers when they allegedly attempted to kidnap the chief official of Bazidkhel union council near Peshawar, the NWFP capital, on February 4, The News reported.
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Nine members of a Bara-based militant group were killed in an encounter with the Police and the Qaumi Lashkar (militia) comprising armed villagers when they allegedly attempted to kidnap the chief official of Bazidkhel union council near Peshawar, the NWFP capital, on February 4, The News reported. Three Policemen sustained injuries in the first incident of its kind in which the Police and villagers jointly countered the militants operating in Peshawar. Police and villagers said that members of the Mangal Bagh-led Lashkar-e-Islam entered the Bazidkhel village in two cars and a motorbike in a bid to kidnap Faheem, the local union council chief. In the ensuing encounter, seven attackers were killed. A source said two more militants were killed near Badaber when they were escaping on a motorcycle. Meanwhile, Lashkar-e-Islam chief Mangal Bagh threatened the Bazidkhel villagers with reprisal if found to be involved in killing nine of his men. Earlier, a spokesman for the Lashkar-e-Islam denied that the slain men wanted to attack the Badaber Police station. However, spokesman Misri Khan conceded that their men were on their way to Bazidkhel to take action against some criminals and elements opposed to their organisation. “Ours is a peaceful organisation that never attacked the security forces and the police. Had they gone there to attack the Badaber police, they would have first attacked Hayatabad and Sarband police stations,” he claimed. The spokesman alleged that their men were stopped at the Frontier Corps check-post, arrested and later killed by the Police and criminals from Bazidkhel.
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February - 6 
A suicide bomber rammed his explosives-laden car into a trailer carrying supplies for NATO forces in Afghanistan and injured seven persons in the Tedi Bazaar area of Jamrud sub-division. Eyewitnesses told Daily Times the bomber was heading for Landikotal when the troops signaled him to stop. They sa
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A suicide bomber rammed his explosives-laden car into a trailer carrying supplies for NATO forces in Afghanistan and injured seven persons in the Tedi Bazaar area of Jamrud sub-division. Eyewitnesses told Daily Times the bomber was heading for Landikotal when the troops signaled him to stop. They said that he rammed his car into the trailer instead of stopping. Fida Bangash, a senior political administration official, said the bomber’s likely target were the army engineers repairing a bridge in Landikotal that was blown up on February 2. Taliban spokesman Maulvi Omar claimed responsibility for the attack. “It was our man who martyred himself in Jamrud… We warned the government to stop military operations in Khyber, Swat and other tribal areas, otherwise we will completely shut down the NATO supply line… We have shown that we can do that,” Omar told AFP. Earlier, in the night of February 5, another suicide bomber had rammed a car bomb into a police station in Mingora in the Swat District of NWFP, injuring 11 soldiers.
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February - 10 
The Swat-based Taliban leader Maulana Muhammad Alam alias Khalil has asked the people of Malakand division not to pay electricity bills. Announcing this on FM radio, Khalil said his militants would teach a lesson to those who tried to disconnect the power supply in the area. “We are demanding our ri
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The Swat-based Taliban leader Maulana Muhammad Alam alias Khalil has asked the people of Malakand division not to pay electricity bills. Announcing this on FM radio, Khalil said his militants would teach a lesson to those who tried to disconnect the power supply in the area. “We are demanding our rights but these are being denied. Therefore, the people of Malakand must not pay utility bills to the Government… We would either implement the Sharia [Islamic law] in Swat or embrace martyrdom,” he said. He vowed to continue efforts for the Sharia enforcement and claimed that the uprising from Swat would spill over to the whole country.
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February - 15 
The Taliban of Swat announced a 10-day cease-fire on February 15 after the Government and the Tehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi (TNSM) reached an understanding about promulgating Sharia (Islamic law), termed ‘Nizam-i-Adl Regulation’, in Malakand region, Dawn reported. “Taliban have declared a un
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The Taliban of Swat announced a 10-day cease-fire on February 15 after the Government and the Tehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi (TNSM) reached an understanding about promulgating Sharia (Islamic law), termed ‘Nizam-i-Adl Regulation’, in Malakand region, Dawn reported. “Taliban have declared a unilateral cease-fire for 10 days as a goodwill gesture. Our fighters will not attack security personnel and Government installations,” Taliban spokesman Muslim Khan said. However, he said, the militants would hold their positions and defend themselves if attacked. He welcomed the move to enforce Sharia regulations in Malakand, but added: “We will see how sincere the Government is in their enforcement.” When asked about the possibility of the militants disarming themselves, the spokesman said everything would depend on the line of action of the authorities in Swat. According to sources, a five-point draft accord was signed after negotiations between the Government and TNSM teams held at the Timergara rest-house where the outfit had set up a ‘protest camp’ on October 9, 2008. A formal announcement about enforcement of the regulations is likely to be made by the NWFP Chief Minister Amir Haider Khan in provincial capital Peshawar on February 16 at a meeting to be attended by provincial ministers, a delegation of the TNSM and leaders of political parties. During the talks on February 15, the NWFP Government team was led by Information Minister Mian Iftikhar, Livestock Minister Haji Hidayatullah, the Awami National Party spokesman Zahid Khan and Hazara Commissioner Javed Khan, while the TNSM was represented by Maulana Sufi Mohammad, spokesman Amir Izzat, Maulana Mohammad Alam and Badshah Sardar. Amir Izzat and Sufi Mohammad’s son Rizwanullah said “both sides have signed the accord” and an announcement regarding the enforcement of Nizam-i-Adl Regulation in Malakand division would be made by the Chief Minister after a meeting with a jirga (council of elders) of the TNSM in Peshawar on February 16. “The NWFP government has accepted TNSM’s demand for enforcement of Shariat-i-Muhammadi in accordance with Quran, Sunnah, Ijma and Qias,” they said.
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February - 15 
Hours after the meeting, the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) leader Mullah Fazlullah announced a 10-day cease-fire in Swat through his illegal FM channel, Daily Times reported. “The Swat chapter of Taliban agrees with talks between the provincial Government and TNSM chief Sufi Muhammad, and ceases
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Hours after the meeting, the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) leader Mullah Fazlullah announced a 10-day cease-fire in Swat through his illegal FM channel, Daily Times reported. “The Swat chapter of Taliban agrees with talks between the provincial Government and TNSM chief Sufi Muhammad, and ceases hostilities for a temporary period of 10 days,” locals quoted Fazlullah’s broadcast. They said he had elaborated the Taliban would review the progress of Sharia implementation after 10 days and decide their future course of action. He said the TTP fully respected the TNSM chief’s decisions.
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February - 16 
President Asif Ali Zardari will not sign documents of the Nizam-e-Adl Regulation 2009 until peace is restored in Swat, Malakand, and other troubled areas, Federal Information Minister Sherry Rehman said on February 16, Daily Times reported. “The Government will monitor the situation, as security and
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President Asif Ali Zardari will not sign documents of the Nizam-e-Adl Regulation 2009 until peace is restored in Swat, Malakand, and other troubled areas, Federal Information Minister Sherry Rehman said on February 16, Daily Times reported. “The Government will monitor the situation, as security and well-being of Swat is top priority,” Sherry said in a statement following an agreement between the NWFP Government and the Tehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi (TNSM). However, she said, “The will of the population of the Swat… should be taken into account while debating the merits of this agreement.” Meanwhile, the Pakistan army said it will abide by the deal between the NWFP Government and TNSM. The Inter-Service Public Relations spokesman Major General Athar Abbas told a private TV channel that the military had been asked to retreat, but it would only respond if attacked. He said the situation in Swat was not satisfactory, but the Government had adopted another strategy. To a question whether the army was consulted before the deal, Abbas said, “Consultation is always there.”
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February - 16 
The NWFP Government formally announced on February 16 the implementation of Sharia (Islamic law) known as the Nizam-e-Adl Regulations 2009 in Malakand Division and Kohistan District, Daily Times reported. “The provincial Government in consultation with all political parties, Sufi Muhammad and ulema
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The NWFP Government formally announced on February 16 the implementation of Sharia (Islamic law) known as the Nizam-e-Adl Regulations 2009 in Malakand Division and Kohistan District, Daily Times reported. “The provincial Government in consultation with all political parties, Sufi Muhammad and ulema with the approval of Federal Government introduced changes in the 1999 Nizam-e-Adl Regulation. Today I announce promulgation of Nizam-e-Adl Regulation (Amended) 2009… The regulations will be implemented in Malakand following the return of peace and restoration of writ of the Government,” NWFP Chief Minister Amir Haider Khan Hoti told a press conference after chairing a jirga (council of elders) in Peshawar. The jirga was attended by a 29-member Tehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi (TNSM) delegation from Dir, leaders and representatives of political and religious parties, members of the NWFP cabinet and senior bureaucrats. He said the Nizam-e-Adl Regulation 2009 had been approved by President Asif Zardari following consultation with TNSM representatives, APP added. “We will reciprocate the militants’ 10-day armistice with a cease-fire for good,” the Chief Minister said. Hoti also said troops would remain in “reactive mode” instead of “proactive mode” and would not target anyone unless threatened. He said the army should be removed only after peace has been restored. Troops would play their role in reconstruction and rehabilitation, he added. He said the Nizam-e-Adl Regulations 2009 were in line with the Constitution of Pakistan as it was the amended form of the regulations proposed for Malakand in 1994 and 1999. He said the new system had been devised to provide easy and speedy justice for the people. He said both the qazi and the police department would be held accountable for any delay. He announced that all civil cases would be resolved within six months and all criminal cases would be decided within a maximum of four months. For its implementation, Hoti said, a task force comprising the federal secretary interior, the NWFP chief secretary, the provincial presidents of the ANP and the PPP, the law and home secretaries, would be established, The News reported. Sources told Daily Times that the TNSM chief Sufi Muhammad would head a jirga to Swat in the next two days to discuss the restoration of peace with the residents and Taliban. Earlier, the NWFP Information Minister Iftikhar Hussain read an ‘announcement’ signed by three TNSM leaders and six NWFP Government officials that declared “null and void” all laws “contrary to Quran and Hadith” in Malakand Division and Kohistan District of Hazara Division. The Malakand Division comprises seven districts of Swat, Buner, Shangla, Dir Upper, Dir Lower, Chitral and Malakand. The announcement also requested the TNSM chief to co-operate with the Government for the restoration of peace in Malakand and promised the Nizam-e-Adl Regulations would be implemented there after peace was fully restored.
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February - 16 
The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has reportedly welcomed the agreement between the TNSM and NWFP Government for the enforcement of Sharia in Malakand Division and Kohistan District. Talking to a private TV channel, TTP spokesman Maulvi Omar said the Taliban would try their best for the enforceme
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The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has reportedly welcomed the agreement between the TNSM and NWFP Government for the enforcement of Sharia in Malakand Division and Kohistan District. Talking to a private TV channel, TTP spokesman Maulvi Omar said the Taliban would try their best for the enforcement of Islamic system in the country and FATA. When asked if the TTP would lay down their arms and renounce violence in the FATA and Swat, he said they would accept every decision taken by Maulana Sufi Muhammad.
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February - 17 
The implementation of the Nizam-e-Adl Regulations 2009 in Malakand Division will not affect the Government’s policy on the war against terror, President Asif Ali Zardari said on February 17, Daily Times reported. During a meeting with the visiting Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith, he said t
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The implementation of the Nizam-e-Adl Regulations 2009 in Malakand Division will not affect the Government’s policy on the war against terror, President Asif Ali Zardari said on February 17, Daily Times reported. During a meeting with the visiting Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith, he said the agreement between the Taliban and the NWFP Government was one part of an overall strategy for peace, a private TV channel reported.
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February - 19 
The US State Department said the US was interested in seeing results of anti-terrorism efforts in Pakistan and will continue to stay in touch with Pakistani officials over the Swat peace arrangement. Deputy spokesman Gordon Duguid said: "These types of deals have happened before and (in that context
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The US State Department said the US was interested in seeing results of anti-terrorism efforts in Pakistan and will continue to stay in touch with Pakistani officials over the Swat peace arrangement. Deputy spokesman Gordon Duguid said: "These types of deals have happened before and (in that context) the direction of events in Swat valley are not in going in a positive way. What we do want to see is results."
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February - 20 
32 persons were killed and 145 others injured when a suicide bomber exploded himself in the funeral procession of a slain employee of the Tehsil Municipal Administration near the busy Shubra Square in Dera Ismail Khan on February 20, The News reported. Sources said the funeral procession of local Sh
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32 persons were killed and 145 others injured when a suicide bomber exploded himself in the funeral procession of a slain employee of the Tehsil Municipal Administration near the busy Shubra Square in Dera Ismail Khan on February 20, The News reported. Sources said the funeral procession of local Shia community leader Sher Zaman alias Shera, who was killed in firing by unidentified persons on February 19, was heading towards Kotly Imam Hussain for his Namaz-e-Janaza (funeral prayer) and burial when a suicide bomber ran into the mourners and blew himself up. While there was no immediate claim for the blast, Police and witnesses blamed sectarian extremists. “We cannot immediately say who could be behind the bombing but it appeared to be linked with the ongoing sectarian attacks,” said Saadullah Khan, the local police station chief. “The head and a foot of the suicide bomber has been found at the scene. The bomber appeared to be 20 years old with a beard,” he added. The suicide bombing consequently led to rioting and firing in the air by some angry funeral participants. They reportedly targeted an approaching Police patrol vehicle, prompting the authorities to impose an indefinite curfew in the city. In the Sikligara area, a Police mobile van was also fired at. However, the Policemen in the vehicle escaped unhurt, sources said. Riots broke out in the city following the blast, and Police confirmed that two people were killed in the firing that followed the suicide bombing, according to Daily Times. Separately, Police said they had arrested three of the four people suspected of killing Sher Zaman.
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February - 20 
A breakthrough is reported to have occurred during talks between the Tehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi (TNSM) chief Maulana Sufi Mohammed and Swat Taliban chief Maulana Fazlullah on February 20, Dawn quoted a TNSM spokesman as saying. Separately, the Taliban said they would probably extend the c
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A breakthrough is reported to have occurred during talks between the Tehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi (TNSM) chief Maulana Sufi Mohammed and Swat Taliban chief Maulana Fazlullah on February 20, Dawn quoted a TNSM spokesman as saying. Separately, the Taliban said they would probably extend the cease-fire in Swat. Sufi Mohammad is seeking to persuade the Taliban to eschew violence and accept the Government's offer to introduce Sharia (Islamic law) in the Malakand Division and Kohistan District. Taliban spokesman Muslim Khan said “Hopefully, you'll hear good news in one or two days.” “They met and discussed how peace will return here and what actions need to be taken for it,” said Khan, adding that Sufi Mohammed was expected to make the Taliban's case to the Government. According to The News, Sufi Mohammed accompanied by thousands of his activists on February 20 continued to rally through the strife-torn towns and villages of the Swat Valley. He also met his son-in-law, Maulana Fazlullah, to persuade the militants to lay down their arms.
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February - 21 February - 22
The Taliban said on February 22 they would decide within days whether to call a permanent cease-fire in Swat after the Government agreed to allow Sharia (Islamic law) in the valley, Daily Times reported. Muslim Khan, spokesman for Taliban leader Maulana Fazlullah, said they would review their curren
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The Taliban said on February 22 they would decide within days whether to call a permanent cease-fire in Swat after the Government agreed to allow Sharia (Islamic law) in the valley, Daily Times reported. Muslim Khan, spokesman for Taliban leader Maulana Fazlullah, said they would review their current 10-day truce in the Swat valley when it expires on February 25. “We declared a 10-day cease-fire just after the agreement was signed and you will see an exemplary peace prevail in the valley once Sharia is enforced… In the next five or six days, our Shura [executive council] is meeting and it will decide about a permanent ceasefire,” Khan told AFP. Fazlullah said the cease-fire would be made permanent provided the militants were confident about the Government’s intentions. He was speaking after talks with Tehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi (TNSM) chief Maulana Sufi Mohammed, who signed the deal with the Government. Sufi held a meeting with close aides in Mingora on February 22 to review the situation, his spokesman Ameer Izzat said. Earlier on February 21, the Government and the Swat chapter of Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) agreed to a permanent cease-fire in Swat after Fazlullah accepted the Nizam-e-Adl Regulation 2009, leading the Government to announce the reopening of schools and return of the internally-displaced persons. Speaking on his FM channel, Fazlullah indicated that he would give up fighting in Swat but would not surrender. Fazlullah also stated that he would continue his struggle at the international level and the fight against the US till Washington was defeated. Commissioner of the Malakand Division, Syed Muhammad Javed, told the media that the cease-fire would now be permanent. “Yes, both sides will observe a permanent cease-fire,” Javed told The News. Fazlullah also reportedly made the same announcement on the truce in his address. After the agreement, Javed said all the schools would be reopened by February 23. Fazlullah has also reportedly allowed girls’ students to appear in examinations in proper purdah (veil). The Government also urged the internally displaced persons (IDPs) to return to their homes, declaring that it would provide them assistance and compensation. The commissioner said the Government had provided funds in this regard and PKR 300,000 and PKR 100,000 would be given to those killed and wounded during the violence, respectively. He asked those police officials who had deserted the force during the conflict to rejoin their duty and announced promotion for policemen who had bravely performed duty during the conflict, besides double salary of all the turbulent months. He added that the Chief Minister would soon announce a development package for Swat.
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February - 22 
Taliban abducted and later released the new District Co-ordination Officer (DCO) in Swat and his six bodyguards to secure the release of their three aides on February 22, Daily Times reported. “We have released the official and his six guards in exchange for the release of our two colleagues,” Talib
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Taliban abducted and later released the new District Co-ordination Officer (DCO) in Swat and his six bodyguards to secure the release of their three aides on February 22, Daily Times reported. “We have released the official and his six guards in exchange for the release of our two colleagues,” Taliban spokesman Muslim Khan told AFP. “The Government has released two (of) our men and soon they will release the third. The Government violated the agreement by arresting our men in Peshawar and killing in Dir (district) that is why we had to do this,” Khan said. Government officials said they could not confirm the claim by Khan, saying they had not yet heard from the kidnapped official. “I have received some information about the release of the Government official and his guards, but we have not heard from him yet,” the NWFP Information Minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain told AFP. DCO Khushhal Khan and six bodyguards were taken away at gunpoint from a Taliban check-post in Mingora earlier on February 22.
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February - 24 
The Taliban in Swat declared an indefinite cease-fire in the valley on February 24, Daily Times reported. The decision was made in a meeting of the Taliban shura (executive council) on February 24, Taliban spokesman Muslim Khan said. Taliban chief Mullah Fazlullah announced the decision in a speech
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The Taliban in Swat declared an indefinite cease-fire in the valley on February 24, Daily Times reported. The decision was made in a meeting of the Taliban shura (executive council) on February 24, Taliban spokesman Muslim Khan said. Taliban chief Mullah Fazlullah announced the decision in a speech that was reportedly cut short when the security forces blocked the transmission of his FM radio channel. A private TV channel said the Security Forces had imported equipment to jam the radio transmission and used it for the first time on February 24. Fazlullah asked his men to stop displaying weapons, end their armed patrols and not to attack security convoys or abduct Government officials, according to copies of the speech sent to the media. He urged the Government to restore all officials removed during the unrest in Swat. Fazlullah ordered his commanders to disband their checkpoints, which he said created "unnecessary problems" for residents. The Taliban chief also stopped all non-government organisations (NGOs) from operating in the valley until the implementation of Sharia (Islamic law). "All NGOs should leave Swat because they are creating problems for peace," Fazlullah said in the speech. But he added that emergency medical crews were exempt from the order. Fazlullah called on soldiers deployed in Swat to remain at their bases, vowing to retaliate against any troop increases.
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February - 25 
Taliban on February 25 disbanded checkpoints and stopped carrying weapons in public a day after announcing an indefinite cease-fire in the Swat valley, Daily Times reported. Taliban commander Mullah Fazlullah ordered his followers to disband checkpoints in a speech on his illegal FM radio station la
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Taliban on February 25 disbanded checkpoints and stopped carrying weapons in public a day after announcing an indefinite cease-fire in the Swat valley, Daily Times reported. Taliban commander Mullah Fazlullah ordered his followers to disband checkpoints in a speech on his illegal FM radio station late on February 24 and asked them not to carry weapons in public. “The Taliban have removed their checkpoints in and around Mingora,” Irfan Ahmad, a resident of Swat, said. Another Swat resident, Mushtaq Khan, said checkpoints have been removed from Matta, Charbagh and Kabal, all Taliban strongholds. “We adhere to the announcement made by Mullah Fazlullah on Tuesday night… We will completely remove all checkpoints after army troops withdraw from the area,” Taliban spokesman Muslim Khan told AFP. Fazlullah announced that the Taliban would not attack army vehicles carrying rations or moving between bases. Khan also said girls could go to schools if they are properly veiled.
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February - 26 
Sufi Muhammad said he was ready to play his role for restoration of peace in Waziristan and Bajaur. He said he was in consultation with the Malakand Commissioner, Deputy Inspector General of Police (Malakand Range), and senior military officials for restoration of peace in Swat. He said he was also
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Sufi Muhammad said he was ready to play his role for restoration of peace in Waziristan and Bajaur. He said he was in consultation with the Malakand Commissioner, Deputy Inspector General of Police (Malakand Range), and senior military officials for restoration of peace in Swat. He said he was also in contact with the Taliban leadership. He called on the people of Malakand Division and Kohistan District to withdraw all the cases pending before the courts in order to file them afresh under the proposed Nizam-e-Adl Regulation 2009.
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March - 1 
Sufi’s spokesman Ameer Izzat Khan blamed the Security Forces for an attack on a troop convoy in Swat earlier in the day. He said the soldiers had not given prior information of their movement in accordance with the terms of the truce.
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Sufi’s spokesman Ameer Izzat Khan blamed the Security Forces for an attack on a troop convoy in Swat earlier in the day. He said the soldiers had not given prior information of their movement in accordance with the terms of the truce.
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March - 1 
The NWFP Government has withdrawn its decision regarding the distribution of rifles among villagers to protect their areas against militants, The News reported on March 1. The decision was taken during a meeting of the NWFP cabinet chaired by Chief Minister Ameer Haider Hoti in capital Peshawar on F
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The NWFP Government has withdrawn its decision regarding the distribution of rifles among villagers to protect their areas against militants, The News reported on March 1. The decision was taken during a meeting of the NWFP cabinet chaired by Chief Minister Ameer Haider Hoti in capital Peshawar on February 28. The meeting discussed the arms distribution and majority of the members asked for reversal of the decision following which the cabinet decided not to go for distribution of rifles, said Information Minister Mian Iftikhar. The Government had taken the decision of arms distribution on the demand of people of the troubled areas, the minister explained. He also said the cabinet observed that arms distribution among villagers would create more problems instead of providing some help to the Government.
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March - 3 
An ISPR press release said the attack was followed by exchange of fire which continued for an hour. Both sides are reported to have used heavy weapons. SFs fired artillery shells for the first time after a cease-fire was declared in Swat. One mortar shell hit a house, killing a man. Taliban spokesma
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An ISPR press release said the attack was followed by exchange of fire which continued for an hour. Both sides are reported to have used heavy weapons. SFs fired artillery shells for the first time after a cease-fire was declared in Swat. One mortar shell hit a house, killing a man. Taliban spokesman Muslim Khan claimed the soldiers were attacked because of their movement in the area without giving prior information. He alleged that the movement of troops was pre-planned and aimed at consolidating their positions. At a press conference in Saidu Sharif, Sufi Mohammad blamed the SFs for the incident and said that they had violated the truce. According to him, it had been decided that no side would move till mid-March, except with prior permission of the TNSM. He said it was agreed that whenever the troops wanted to move they would inform the TNSM in advance to avoid misunderstanding. “The troops didn’t inform us which led to the ill-fated incident,” he said. He warned that if the cease-fire violation continued, the TNSM would have to come out of the peace process. The TNSM, he said, was satisfied with the Taliban activities, but had reservations about the role of SFs in the peace process.
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March - 4 
The NWFP Government struck a 17-point deal with the banned Tehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi (TNSM) in the Swat valley on March 4, Daily Times reported. “A 17-point understanding was reached with a TNSM delegation … music has been banned in Swat and it has been agreed to expel prostitutes and pi
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The NWFP Government struck a 17-point deal with the banned Tehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi (TNSM) in the Swat valley on March 4, Daily Times reported. “A 17-point understanding was reached with a TNSM delegation … music has been banned in Swat and it has been agreed to expel prostitutes and pimps from the district,” said a senior official. The Awami National Party (ANP) and the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) co-led the provincial Government at the talks, while Maulana Safiullah and spokesman Amir Izzat Khan represented the TNSM – with Malakand Commissioner Syed Muhammad Javed also in attendance. The meeting came a day after suspected Taliban militants killed two army troops and continued taking Government officials hostage, despite having agreed to a cease-fire in the wake of the provincial Government’s February 16 accord on the implementation of Sharia (Islamic law) in Swat. “Music and vulgar CDs will be banned; shops will remain closed during prayer times and the complete implementation of sharia laws in the region will come into effect from the 16th of this month… Vulgarity would be rooted out and profiteers dealt with under the law. An anti-crime campaign will be launched and Quran classes will be started for jail inmates in the region,” according to the key points of the understanding. The Malakand Commissioner’s office released to the media the 17-point understanding – which does not say if the Taliban would stop abducting Government officials and attacking Government forces. The Commissioner told the TNSM delegation that he would forward the 17 points to the Chief Secretary in Peshawar for the Government’s approval, said the officials.
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March - 5 
Locals said the administration had also been warned before the attack to stop women from visiting the shrine. Police told Daily Times that militants planted the explosives and then jumped over a wall of the shrine to escape. City Superintendent of Police Ijaz Abid said, "Bara-based militants could b
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Locals said the administration had also been warned before the attack to stop women from visiting the shrine. Police told Daily Times that militants planted the explosives and then jumped over a wall of the shrine to escape. City Superintendent of Police Ijaz Abid said, "Bara-based militants could be behind the attack, as they are opposed to shrines and have previously attacked other shrines as well."
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March - 6 
The NWFP Chief Minister Ameer Haider Hoti said in Peshawar on March 6 that only those Taliban prisoners that fall in the ‘white category’ will be released as part of the peace deal in Swat. Prisoners in the black and grey categories – who are a serious threat to national security according to police
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The NWFP Chief Minister Ameer Haider Hoti said in Peshawar on March 6 that only those Taliban prisoners that fall in the ‘white category’ will be released as part of the peace deal in Swat. Prisoners in the black and grey categories – who are a serious threat to national security according to police investigation manual – will not be freed, he told Daily Times. “I have directed the home secretary to look into the cases of those prisoners who are in the white category. We will not free prisoners in black and grey categories,” the chief minister said. Maulana Sufi Muhammad, chief of the banned Tehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi (TNSM), had demanded the release of all Taliban prisoners arrested during military operations in Swat. Hoti also said his Government would soon send the draft Nizam-e-Adl Regulation 2009 to the president for his approval. “In the next few days it will be sent to the [NWFP] governor who will forward to President Zardari… The president has to sign it. It is just a formality,” he said.
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March - 9 
The NWFP Chief Minister Ameer Haider Hoti signed on March 9 the draft of the proposed Nizam-e-Adl (Sharia) Regulation 2009, and sent it to Governor Owais Ghani to be forwarded to the President for approval, sources in Chief Minister’s Secretariat told Daily Times on March 9. The Tehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Sh
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The NWFP Chief Minister Ameer Haider Hoti signed on March 9 the draft of the proposed Nizam-e-Adl (Sharia) Regulation 2009, and sent it to Governor Owais Ghani to be forwarded to the President for approval, sources in Chief Minister’s Secretariat told Daily Times on March 9. The Tehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi (TNSM) has set March 15 as the deadline for the Government to implement Sharia (Islamic law) in Malakand. NWFP Law Minister Arshad Abdullah told a press conference that the provincial Government had given final shape to the Nizam-e-Adl Regulation 2009 and President Asif Ali Zardari would sign the document in three days. The law minister said the regulation would deal with criminal cases only. According to the regulation, the minister said that two appellate Sharia courts – Darul Qaza and Darul-Darul Qaza – would be established in Malakand Division. He said that verdicts delivered by the Darul Qaza court could be challenged in the Darul-Darul Qaza court, whose verdict would be final. The law minister also said the Nizam-e-Adl Regulations would be deemed to have come into effect on February 16.
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March - 11 
The NWFP Governor Owais Ahmed Ghani on March 11 signed the draft of Nizam-e-Adl (Sharia) Regulation 2009, for forwarding it to the president for a final approval, official sources told Daily Times. The sources, however, did not confirm if the draft had been sent to the president. NWFP Law Minister A
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The NWFP Governor Owais Ahmed Ghani on March 11 signed the draft of Nizam-e-Adl (Sharia) Regulation 2009, for forwarding it to the president for a final approval, official sources told Daily Times. The sources, however, did not confirm if the draft had been sent to the president. NWFP Law Minister Arshad Abdullah said the Nizam-e-Adl Regulation 2009 was expected to be implemented in Malakand Division and Kohistan District by March 15, and would have a retrospective effect from February 16, 2009. The minister said President Asif Ali Zardari had verbally agreed with the NWFP Government to sign the draft as soon as he received it. The Nizam-e-Adl Regulation will repeal the Code of Criminal Procedure (Amendment) Ordinance 2001, the law through which the executive magistracy was abolished across the country on August 14, 2001, and will revive the former system including the offices of district magistrate, additional district magistrate, sub-divisional magistrate and other executive magistrates.
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March - 15 
Intelligence officials said late on March 15 that two missiles fired by suspected United States drone planes killed five people at Chota Janikhel village in the Bannu District of NWFP, Daily Times reported. The officials said the dead included two Arabs and three other people. Reuters reported that
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Intelligence officials said late on March 15 that two missiles fired by suspected United States drone planes killed five people at Chota Janikhel village in the Bannu District of NWFP, Daily Times reported. The officials said the dead included two Arabs and three other people. Reuters reported that the missiles struck a house at around 10:30pm.
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March - 17 
Police claimed to have arrested a would-be suicide bomber along with his relatives during a raid in the Turangzai village of Charsadda District on March 16-night, The News reported. Addressing a press conference on March 17, the District Police Officer (DPO) Muhammad Riaz said the Police raided a ho
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Police claimed to have arrested a would-be suicide bomber along with his relatives during a raid in the Turangzai village of Charsadda District on March 16-night, The News reported. Addressing a press conference on March 17, the District Police Officer (DPO) Muhammad Riaz said the Police raided a house in Turangzai and arrested a would-be suicide bomber, identified as Qari Shahid Ali, his father Kifayat, brother Imran and sister Iffat Begum, who is a lady Police constable, and a minor. He said Police also seized a suicide vest, a Kalashnikov rifle, a computer set, CDs and literatures from their possession. The DPO said the suicide bomber confessed to have links with the banned Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) headed by Baitullah Mehsud. He also said the would-be suicide bomber and one Kamran were allegedly involved in plotting the earlier suicide bombings in which the Pakistan People's Party (Sherpao faction) chief Aftab Sherpao and Awami National Party chief Asfandyar Wali Khan were targets. "The bomber was planning to target NWFP Chief Minister Ameer Haider Hoti’s father and former federal minister Azam Khan Hoti, and Imtiaz Shagai, the recently-elected PPP MPA from Mardan’s PF-30 constituency," the DPO added. He said the bomber was a teacher in Maulana Zubair’s seminary and was an active member of the TTP in the area.
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April - 3 
President Asif Ali Zardari has strongly condemned the flogging of a 17-year-old girl in public in Swat and ordered an inquiry into the matter, Daily Times reported. Presidential spokesman Farhatullah Babar said Zardari had sought a report from the NWFP Government and the local administration and cal
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President Asif Ali Zardari has strongly condemned the flogging of a 17-year-old girl in public in Swat and ordered an inquiry into the matter, Daily Times reported. Presidential spokesman Farhatullah Babar said Zardari had sought a report from the NWFP Government and the local administration and called for arresting those responsible. The two-minute video reportedly shows the girl, wearing a veil, face down on the ground with two men holding her arms and feet and a third man in a black turban with a long beard whipping her. The incident occurred in the Kala Killay area of Kabal sub-division, The News reported.
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April - 3 
Samar Minallah – who works for a Pakistani human rights organisation – distributed the video given to her by people in Swat to the Western media. "The entire village knows she is innocent," Samar told AFP. She told The Guardian that the flogging had taken place in the last 10 days.
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Samar Minallah – who works for a Pakistani human rights organisation – distributed the video given to her by people in Swat to the Western media. "The entire village knows she is innocent," Samar told AFP. She told The Guardian that the flogging had taken place in the last 10 days.
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April - 5 
Chand Bibi, the young girl who was shown being flogged by the Swat Taliban in a videotape aired on television channels, gave a statement to a Qazi (Islamic judge), on April 5, denying the incident. Mian Iftikhar Hussain, the NWFP Information Minister, told The News that she made the statement to Moh
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Chand Bibi, the young girl who was shown being flogged by the Swat Taliban in a videotape aired on television channels, gave a statement to a Qazi (Islamic judge), on April 5, denying the incident. Mian Iftikhar Hussain, the NWFP Information Minister, told The News that she made the statement to Mohammad Riaz, the judge of the Qazi Court for Matta Tehsil (revenue division), and the Commissioner of Malakand Division, Syed Mohammad Javed, both of whom visited her village, Kala Killay, in Kabal sub-division on April 5. Quoting the Commissioner, Mian Iftikhar said Chand Bibi made it clear that she was indeed married to Adalat Khan and everyone in the village knew about it. She refuted the reports that both of them were flogged by the Taliban as punishment for maintaining illicit relations and then forcibly married. According to the information minister, the Commissioner and the Judge had visited Kala Killay to record the statements of the couple on the directive of the NWFP Chief Secretary. The Chief Secretary and Inspector General of Police (NWFP) had been directed by Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Pakistan, Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry, to appear before his court and also produce the girl who was flogged. The Chief Justice had taken suo moto notice of the case after the two-minute videotape was shown on TV channels.
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April - 7 
Expressing satisfaction over the truce in the Malakand Division, the NWFP Information Minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain said on April 7 the Government’s writ had been restored in about 70 per cent of Swat area after the February 16 peace deal, The News reported. “This is a suitable recipe for bringing
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Expressing satisfaction over the truce in the Malakand Division, the NWFP Information Minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain said on April 7 the Government’s writ had been restored in about 70 per cent of Swat area after the February 16 peace deal, The News reported. “This is a suitable recipe for bringing peace and we shall apply it wherever it is needed once it proves successful in Malakand Division,” Mian Iftikhar told a press conference in Peshawar. Briefing journalists after the 10th meeting of the provincial cabinet, the minister said militants had agreed to lay down arms after the enforcement of the Nizam-e-Adl Regulation in Malakand. The minister, however, admitted that situation in parts of Swat was not ideal, but there was no reason to call it disappointing. He claimed that schools and colleges had been reopened, businesses had been resumed and the people were happy.
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April - 10 
The Tehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi (TNSM) on April 10 Friday assured the NWFP Government that it would keep the peace deal intact, but warned that the delay by President Asif Ali Zardari in signing the Nizam-e-Adl Regulation could hinder the return of peace to the Swat Valley, The News report
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The Tehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi (TNSM) on April 10 Friday assured the NWFP Government that it would keep the peace deal intact, but warned that the delay by President Asif Ali Zardari in signing the Nizam-e-Adl Regulation could hinder the return of peace to the Swat Valley, The News reported. The NWFP Information Minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain and the peace envoy to the NWFP Government Afrasiyab Khattak reportedly went to Batkhela to meet the TNSM chief Maulana Sufi Muhammad, who wound up the peace camp in Swat on April 9. However, Sufi Muhammad refused to meet the visiting delegation in protest against the delay in the signing of the Nizam-e-Adl Regulation. “We met him (Sufi) during the Friday prayers but he did not participate in the talks,” said Mian Iftikhar.
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April - 13 
Daily Times reports that Taliban in Swat have renewed efforts to recruit fighters and supporters following delays in the implementation of their peace agreement with the Government. “As long as we were there enforcing peace, they were not recruiting,” Rizwanullah Farooq, son of Sufi Muhammad, told B
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Daily Times reports that Taliban in Swat have renewed efforts to recruit fighters and supporters following delays in the implementation of their peace agreement with the Government. “As long as we were there enforcing peace, they were not recruiting,” Rizwanullah Farooq, son of Sufi Muhammad, told Bloomberg on April 13. He said, “Now recruitment is going on even in Buner because they don’t see a chance for peace. The government must understand this.” The report adds that the drive into Buner brings the Taliban closest to Islamabad in the five years since they began fighting the government for territorial control. The Tehreek Nifaaz-e-Shariat-e-Muhammadi, which signed the two-month-old peace accord with the Government on behalf of the Taliban, abandoned the vigil last week by leaving Swat in protest and has threatened to pull out of the peace accord to protest delay by President Asif Ali Zardari in approving the system of Sufi’s Sharia (Islamic law) courts in the area.
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April - 13 
President Asif Ali Zardari signed the Nizam-e-Adl Regulation for Swat on April 13, after the National Assembly passed a resolution in favour of the draft regulation, Daily Times reported on April 14. "Yes, the president has signed the Nizam-e-Adl Regulation before leaving for Dubai on a two-day visi
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President Asif Ali Zardari signed the Nizam-e-Adl Regulation for Swat on April 13, after the National Assembly passed a resolution in favour of the draft regulation, Daily Times reported on April 14. "Yes, the president has signed the Nizam-e-Adl Regulation before leaving for Dubai on a two-day visit," said presidential spokesman Farhatullah Babar. Earlier on April 13, the National Assembly unanimously passed a resolution recommending the President sign the regulation to be imposed in the Malakand Division in accordance with a peace agreement between the NWFP Government and the Tehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi (TNSM). The Muttahida Qaumi Movement had expressed its reservations over the resolution but abstained from voting to allow it to be passed unanimously. Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani told the National Assembly that the issue had been brought before the House to build a broad national consensus and establish the supremacy of Parliament.
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April - 14 
The White House said on April 14 the Nizam-e-Adl Regulation accord signed by the NWFP Government with the TNSM to introduce Sharia (Islamic law) in Malakand Division and the Kohistan District of NWFP was against human rights and democracy, AFP reported. White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said Presid
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The White House said on April 14 the Nizam-e-Adl Regulation accord signed by the NWFP Government with the TNSM to introduce Sharia (Islamic law) in Malakand Division and the Kohistan District of NWFP was against human rights and democracy, AFP reported. White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said President Barack Obama’s administration believed that "solutions involving security in Pakistan don’t include less democracy and less human-rights. The signing of that denoting strict Islamic law in Swat valley goes against both those principles". He also said "We are disappointed that parliament did not take into account legitimate concerns around civil and human rights."
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April - 15 
The Capital City Police Officer Safwat Ghayyur and District Police Officer Muhammad Riaz Khan told reporters that Police had been tipped off that two explosive-laden cars would enter the district from Malakand to carry out terrorist activity, The News reported. District Police Officer Riaz Khan said
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The Capital City Police Officer Safwat Ghayyur and District Police Officer Muhammad Riaz Khan told reporters that Police had been tipped off that two explosive-laden cars would enter the district from Malakand to carry out terrorist activity, The News reported. District Police Officer Riaz Khan said the attack might be in retaliation to the killing of a suicide bomber by the Charsadda Police a few days ago. The suicide attacker was shot dead by Station House Officer Jehangir Khan, when the bomber was on his way to blew himself up at a public gathering being addressed by the provincial president of the Pakistan People’s Party (Sherpao faction) Sikander Sherpao in Charsadda.
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April - 15 
The NWFP Governor Owais Ahmed Ghani signed the Nizam-e-Adl Regulation on April 15, formally enforcing Sharia in Malakand Division and Kohistan District. “Today, it is an historic day,” he told reporters in provincial capital Peshawar after signing the law two days after President Asif Ali Zardari ap
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The NWFP Governor Owais Ahmed Ghani signed the Nizam-e-Adl Regulation on April 15, formally enforcing Sharia in Malakand Division and Kohistan District. “Today, it is an historic day,” he told reporters in provincial capital Peshawar after signing the law two days after President Asif Ali Zardari approved it following a nod from the National Assembly.
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April - 15 
The Government may review the Nizam-e-Adl Regulation 2009 if peace is not restored in Swat, President Asif Ali Zardari said on April 15, according to Daily Times. Addressing the Pakistani community in Tokyo, he said the Nizam-e-Adl, and not Sharia (Islamic law), had been imposed in Malakand Division
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The Government may review the Nizam-e-Adl Regulation 2009 if peace is not restored in Swat, President Asif Ali Zardari said on April 15, according to Daily Times. Addressing the Pakistani community in Tokyo, he said the Nizam-e-Adl, and not Sharia (Islamic law), had been imposed in Malakand Division, a private TV channel reported. The President was in Japan to attend the Friends of Democratic Pakistan ministerial meeting and a donors’ conference.
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April - 18 
Army spokesman Major General Athar Abbas confirmed 16 Army and two Police deaths. But hospital sources said dead bodies of 27 SF personnel had been brought to the Combined Military Hospital in Tull and 48 injured wounded had been admitted to the hospital. Seven injured Policemen were being treated i
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Army spokesman Major General Athar Abbas confirmed 16 Army and two Police deaths. But hospital sources said dead bodies of 27 SF personnel had been brought to the Combined Military Hospital in Tull and 48 injured wounded had been admitted to the hospital. Seven injured Policemen were being treated in Hangu Hospital. 16 of the injured were later shifted to other cities by helicopters. Doaba Station House Officer Amal Khan, who was also injured in the bombing, told Daily Times at Hangu Hospital that the Policemen were on their way back from a raid when the vehicle, coming from the Serozai side, hit the check post. A soldier had been killed and seven others injured in a suicide attack on the same check post several months ago. No organisation has so far claimed responsibility for the attack.
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April - 19 
The Tehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi (TNSM) chief Maulana Sufi Muhammad declared on April 19 that the country’s superior courts were un-Islamic and could not hear appeals against decisions of the newly set up qazi (Islamic) courts, Daily Times reported. "There is no room for democracy in Islam,
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The Tehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi (TNSM) chief Maulana Sufi Muhammad declared on April 19 that the country’s superior courts were un-Islamic and could not hear appeals against decisions of the newly set up qazi (Islamic) courts, Daily Times reported. "There is no room for democracy in Islam," said Sufi while addressing a gathering in the Mingora town of Swat District. Western democracy was a "system of infidels" and had divided the clerics and the people of Pakistan into factions, he said, and the Supreme Court and the high courts were strengthening the system. The TNSM chief told the Government to withdraw all judges from Malakand Division – including from Kohistan District – within four days and set up a Darul Qaza to hear appeals against the decisions of qazi courts. He also demanded the appointment of qazis at the district and tehsil (revenue division) levels throughout the Division. "The government will be responsible for all the consequences if our demands are not implemented," he warned. He also said it was impossible to implement the Nizam-e-Adl Regulation 2009 – promulgated on April 15 following approval from the President and the National Assembly – without support from the Army and Police.
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April - 26 
Interior Adviser Rehman Malik said on April 26 the Government has no option but to take action against the Taliban. Malik said citizens “cannot bear such unwanted elements in the country that compel the government to take action against them”. In Islamabad, the Presidential spokesman Farhatullah Bab
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Interior Adviser Rehman Malik said on April 26 the Government has no option but to take action against the Taliban. Malik said citizens “cannot bear such unwanted elements in the country that compel the government to take action against them”. In Islamabad, the Presidential spokesman Farhatullah Babar said the Government’s peace deal with the Taliban in Swat is ‘intact’ despite the launch of a military operation in Lower Dir. Babar said the operation did not void the pact. Lower Dir is part of the Malakand Division, which is covered by the agreement.
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April - 26 
Sources said the troops entered Lal Qila after an intense battle. The SFs reportedly used helicopter gunships and artillery in the operations, and shelled the Tokri and Kal Dherai areas in Maidan, the ancestral village of the Tehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi (TNSM) chief Maulana Sufi Muhammad.
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Sources said the troops entered Lal Qila after an intense battle. The SFs reportedly used helicopter gunships and artillery in the operations, and shelled the Tokri and Kal Dherai areas in Maidan, the ancestral village of the Tehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi (TNSM) chief Maulana Sufi Muhammad. The SFs fired mortar shells from Chakdara Fort – killing eight Taliban militants, including Lower Dir ‘commander’ Maulana Shahid, and injuring scores of others. Troops and the Taliban also engaged in crossfire. The NWFP Information Minister Iftikhar Hussain told Daily Times, “The situation was such that the security forces had no option but to launch an operation … the district police officer (DPO), the district nazim and other officials have already been killed and a number of troops and people kidnapped.” Iftikhar said the SFs had been coming under attack, and they had to take action under the circumstances. The minister, however, said that the operation would not affect the Nizam-e-Adl Regulation 2009, and SFs were still present in Malakand.
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April - 27 
According to Daily Times, the NWFP Information Minister Mian Iftikhar on April 27 warned the Taliban of military action if they did not leave Buner district. “Leave Buner or face action,” the minister said while addressing a news conference in Timergara where new Malakand Commissioner Fazal Rahim Kh
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According to Daily Times, the NWFP Information Minister Mian Iftikhar on April 27 warned the Taliban of military action if they did not leave Buner district. “Leave Buner or face action,” the minister said while addressing a news conference in Timergara where new Malakand Commissioner Fazal Rahim Khattak was also present. The minister said the provincial Government has received reports of presence of “foreign militants” in Buner, where some of the Taliban had been speaking languages the locals could not understand. The foreigners are likely Uzbeks, Chechens or Arabs. The minister said there was no military operation going on in Lower Dir, the APP reported, adding that the clashes there were “retaliation to the attack by miscreants on the security forces”. The armed forces were present in Malakand division “only to maintain peace and harmony”.
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April - 29 
The military spokesman said an Arab correspondent of Al Jazeera TV, Abdul Rehman Matar, was injured after his vehicle was caught in crossfire in Daggar. According to APP, Abbas said Taliban were getting weapons and assistance through the Afghan border.
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The military spokesman said an Arab correspondent of Al Jazeera TV, Abdul Rehman Matar, was injured after his vehicle was caught in crossfire in Daggar. According to APP, Abbas said Taliban were getting weapons and assistance through the Afghan border.
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April - 30 
He said the militants attacked SFs’ post in the Jawari Pass area and in the retaliatory action four militants were killed, while the rest fled from the scene. During the crossfire, one FC trooper sustained injuries, he said. Further, according to Dawn, militants blew up a camp of the Frontier Consta
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He said the militants attacked SFs’ post in the Jawari Pass area and in the retaliatory action four militants were killed, while the rest fled from the scene. During the crossfire, one FC trooper sustained injuries, he said. Further, according to Dawn, militants blew up a camp of the Frontier Constabulary and took away weapons, while jets and helicopters continued heavy bombing on their suspected positions in different parts of Buner District on April 30. However, no casualty among militants was reported in the attacks by helicopter gunships.
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April - 30 
Major General Abbas said the Government and SFs had been exercising maximum restraint despite clear violations of peace deal by the Taliban in Swat. He claimed the Taliban were carrying out patrolling, setting up check-posts, kidnapping for ransom and killing and damaging private properties, violati
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Major General Abbas said the Government and SFs had been exercising maximum restraint despite clear violations of peace deal by the Taliban in Swat. He claimed the Taliban were carrying out patrolling, setting up check-posts, kidnapping for ransom and killing and damaging private properties, violating the peace deal.
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April - 30 
Pakistan’s top military leaders resolved to support the Government in showing "zero tolerance" towards militancy in the Malakand Division of NWFP in a meeting of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (JCSC) on April 30, Daily Times reported. "While examining the prevailing situation in Malakand divisi
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Pakistan’s top military leaders resolved to support the Government in showing "zero tolerance" towards militancy in the Malakand Division of NWFP in a meeting of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (JCSC) on April 30, Daily Times reported. "While examining the prevailing situation in Malakand division, the JCSC expressed satisfaction over the progress of operations in Lower Dir, Buner and adjoining areas and resolved to extend maximum support to the government in stamping out any spillover of militancy in these areas with zero tolerance," an ISPR spokesman said after the meeting.
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April - 30 
The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director-General Major General Athar Abbas said on April 30 that 24 militants had been killed so far in the military operation in Buner and Security Forces (SFs) had cleared the District headquarters Daggar of the militants, The News reported. Addressing a
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The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director-General Major General Athar Abbas said on April 30 that 24 militants had been killed so far in the military operation in Buner and Security Forces (SFs) had cleared the District headquarters Daggar of the militants, The News reported. Addressing a press conference in Islamabad, he said due to the successful operation, launched jointly by the Frontier Corps (FC) and Pakistan Army, life was returning to normalcy in Lower Dir. He also said the number of casualties might increase in Buner and Lower Dir. Abbas added that the militants were still holding positions at Sultanwas and Pir Baba.
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April - 30 
The ISPR Director-General Major General Athar Abbas dismissed a report in The New York Times that claimed that Pakistan had agreed to move 6,000 troops from its Indian border to its western border with Afghanistan. "The story is not correct," he told Daily Times.
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The ISPR Director-General Major General Athar Abbas dismissed a report in The New York Times that claimed that Pakistan had agreed to move 6,000 troops from its Indian border to its western border with Afghanistan. "The story is not correct," he told Daily Times.
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May - 1 
The military spokesman said the resistance the Taliban had put up and their weapons – assault rifles, anti-aircraft missiles and mortars – showed they had come to Buner with the intention to stay. He said locals had confirmed that foreigners were also present in Buner and fighting the SFs along with
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The military spokesman said the resistance the Taliban had put up and their weapons – assault rifles, anti-aircraft missiles and mortars – showed they had come to Buner with the intention to stay. He said locals had confirmed that foreigners were also present in Buner and fighting the SFs along with the Taliban. Abbas said the SFs had foiled Taliban plans to target the troops in suicide attacks. He claimed that one would-be suicide bomber had also been arrested, after he attempted to blow himself up. He also said ground troops backed by helicopter gunships destroyed nine suicide vehicles and six vehicles of ‘fleeing Taliban’, AFP reported. Three suicide motorcyclists were shot dead by ground troops advancing on narrow mountain tracks, he added.
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May - 2 
The military said that the Taliban militants attacked a security check post on Khawazakhela Bridge in Swat in violation of the peace deal. The military said that 10 Levies personnel abducted by the Taliban militants in Upper Dir area were released, but the militants took their weapons.
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The military said that the Taliban militants attacked a security check post on Khawazakhela Bridge in Swat in violation of the peace deal. The military said that 10 Levies personnel abducted by the Taliban militants in Upper Dir area were released, but the militants took their weapons.
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May - 3 
An Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) press release stated that consolidation of positions was carried out on May 3 in Daggar and the surrounding areas. The press release said the dead included a militant commander, Khalil alias Alam Buneri, a main leader of the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan. SFs al
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An Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) press release stated that consolidation of positions was carried out on May 3 in Daggar and the surrounding areas. The press release said the dead included a militant commander, Khalil alias Alam Buneri, a main leader of the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan. SFs also successfully evacuated 20 girls, who were trapped in the Daggar Girls College.
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May - 3 
An unidentified gunmen looted three branches of various banks in different areas of Buner on May 3. Eyewitnesses said unidentified armed men arrived in pickups and looted a branch of the Allied Bank at Tor Warsak, the United Bank in Jiwar and the Habib Bank’s branch at Bazargai in broad daylight and
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An unidentified gunmen looted three branches of various banks in different areas of Buner on May 3. Eyewitnesses said unidentified armed men arrived in pickups and looted a branch of the Allied Bank at Tor Warsak, the United Bank in Jiwar and the Habib Bank’s branch at Bazargai in broad daylight and decamped with the cash, furniture and computers. It wasn’t clear how much money was looted.
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May - 3 
Armed Taliban militants were out on the streets of Mingora town on May 3 in what the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) called a gross violation of the peace deal. “Militants are involved in various criminal activities threatening the lives of the civilian population, the civil administration as
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Armed Taliban militants were out on the streets of Mingora town on May 3 in what the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) called a gross violation of the peace deal. “Militants are involved in various criminal activities threatening the lives of the civilian population, the civil administration as well as security forces personnel,” it said.
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May - 3 
Brigadier Fayyaz Mehmood Qamar, who is in-charge of military operations in the Buner District of NWFP, said on May 3 the operations will be completed within a week, The News reported. Briefing the media in District headquarters Daggar, he said Security Forces (SFs) killed 27 suicide attackers, bring
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Brigadier Fayyaz Mehmood Qamar, who is in-charge of military operations in the Buner District of NWFP, said on May 3 the operations will be completed within a week, The News reported. Briefing the media in District headquarters Daggar, he said Security Forces (SFs) killed 27 suicide attackers, bringing the death toll of militants to 80. Three SF personnel were also killed in the operation, he added. The Brigadier said SFs faced stiff resistance while entering into Buner, as the presence of militants at the Ambela hills was very thick and suicide bombers, riding on motorcycles and vehicles, were out to target the troops. Militants were still present in Pir Baba and Suleman Bakhsh and a plan had been chalked out to launch operation in this area, he said. The SFs have not initiated any land offensive so far and the entire operation was conducted with the help of artillery and gunship helicopters, he said. Brig Fayyaz said the local militants were very few in strength while Uzbek insurgents were present in large numbers, putting up a stiff resistance. Further, the District Coordination Officer disclosed that about 30-35 suicide bombers were still present in the area.
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May - 3 
The Swat peace deal stands dissolved and the militants present in Swat, Matta, Kabal and Sangla as well as their commanders have asked for permission to fight everywhere, sources told The News on May 3. “Our peace agreement with the NWFP government practically stands dissolved,” confirmed Muslim Kha
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The Swat peace deal stands dissolved and the militants present in Swat, Matta, Kabal and Sangla as well as their commanders have asked for permission to fight everywhere, sources told The News on May 3. “Our peace agreement with the NWFP government practically stands dissolved,” confirmed Muslim Khan, a spokesman for the Swat chapter of the banned Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). Security Forces (SFs) are attacking us and our fighters are also retaliating, he said. The TTP Swat spokesman vowed that their fighters would now attack SFs and Government figures everywhere. He alleged the rulers were obeying every directive of US President Barack Obama. He said if the Awami National Party (ANP) supports the Taliban, they will not harm them. But if they supported the Government, they too will become a target, warned Muslim Khan. He also said their main target will be SFs and the rulers of Pakistan and they will also act in other cities of Pakistan but will not target the general public. To a question, the TTP spokesman ruled out the involvement of India and Afghanistan and said no outside elements were involved in the Swat unrest. When asked about the dissolution of the Swat peace agreement, ANP spokesperson Senator Zahid Khan said they had signed the accord with the TNSM chief Maulana Sufi Muhammad and not with the Swat Taliban. He said the Taliban had been violating the accord time and again. However, the TNSM spokesman Ameer Izzat Khan said he did not know about the scrapping of the agreement but if the operation continued in the region, the situation would return to the one that prevailed before the pact. He claimed the general public in Swat was now opposed to the Government.
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May - 4 
According to Daily Times, the Taliban have made about 2,000 civilians in Buner of North Western Frontier Province (NWFP) hostage and are using them as human shield, the chief military spokesman said on May 4. The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General Major Gen Athar Abbas told to t
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According to Daily Times, the Taliban have made about 2,000 civilians in Buner of North Western Frontier Province (NWFP) hostage and are using them as human shield, the chief military spokesman said on May 4. The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General Major Gen Athar Abbas told to the state-run Pakistan TV that the Taliban had made the civilians hostage in Peer Baba and Sultan Was areas and were not allowing them to leave. In an update on the military operations in Malakand division, the ISPR said the move came after an impending operation to clear Pir Baba. Talking to PTV, the ISPR director general said Daggar was under complete control of the security forces and the Daggar-Mardan road had been reopened. Malandri Road had also been cleared, he added.
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May - 4 
Calling the Pakistani Government and Army "enemies of Muslims", the Swat Taliban vowed on May 4 to march forward till death, according to Daily Times. "Either we’ll be martyred or we’ll march forward," Taliban spokesman Muslim Khan told Reuters by telephone. He said elements in the military and the
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Calling the Pakistani Government and Army "enemies of Muslims", the Swat Taliban vowed on May 4 to march forward till death, according to Daily Times. "Either we’ll be martyred or we’ll march forward," Taliban spokesman Muslim Khan told Reuters by telephone. He said elements in the military and the Government were trying to sabotage the peace process to please the United States. "This is not our army, this is not our Government," he added. They’re worse enemies of Muslims than the Americans. They’re US stooges. " We will give a fitting reply to security forces if Sufi Muhammad decides to revoke the deal with the Government," he said while talking to AFP.
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May - 4 
The NWFP Government will not tolerate any violation of the Swat peace agreement any longer, provincial Information Minister Iftikhar Hussain said. Talking to reporters after a seminar, the top NWFP Government spokesman said his Government had demonstrated full sincerity in the promulgation of the Ni
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The NWFP Government will not tolerate any violation of the Swat peace agreement any longer, provincial Information Minister Iftikhar Hussain said. Talking to reporters after a seminar, the top NWFP Government spokesman said his Government had demonstrated full sincerity in the promulgation of the Nizam-e-Adl Regulation and had announced the establishment of Darul Qaza to fulfil the demands of Sufi Muhammad and the Taliban for peace in Malakand. However he warned of stern action and "the use of the second option" against anyone who would challenge the writ of the state. The minister asked the Taliban to lay down weapons and support the government in its peace initiatives, and told them the government would not tolerate any violation of the agreement in future after the implementation of Nizam-e-Adl.
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May - 4 
The spokesman for Tehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi (TNSM) has said establishing peace was the responsibility of the government and not the TNSM, a private TV channel reported. Talking to reporters in Batkhela, he said the TNSM would only be responsible for peace if ‘sharia’ was enforced in the
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The spokesman for Tehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi (TNSM) has said establishing peace was the responsibility of the government and not the TNSM, a private TV channel reported. Talking to reporters in Batkhela, he said the TNSM would only be responsible for peace if ‘sharia’ was enforced in the Malakand division. According to the channel, he called for an end to the military action against the Taliban in parts of the division and said peace could not be restored by force and could only come through "the enforcement of sharia". He said the NWFP Government had not consulted the TNSM on the appointment of qazis.
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May - 5 
An Inter-Services Public Relations statement said militants in Swat blew up a Police station and fired rockets at posts of SFs at Shangla Top, Shamzoi Bridge, Bariam bridge and grid station in Mingora. Militants also looted a store of the World Food Programme in Swat and took away bags of wheat and
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An Inter-Services Public Relations statement said militants in Swat blew up a Police station and fired rockets at posts of SFs at Shangla Top, Shamzoi Bridge, Bariam bridge and grid station in Mingora. Militants also looted a store of the World Food Programme in Swat and took away bags of wheat and cans of edible oil, the statement said. According to BBC, militants have occupied important Government offices, including that of the Commissioner Malakand Division, DIG, Frontier Reserve Police, district nazim and Police investigation offices, in Saidu Sharif. The NWFP Minister for Information Mian Iftikhar Hussain while confirming the militants’ control over the commissioner and DIG offices, expressed ignorance about other offices.
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May - 5 
An unnamed Frontier Government source said the Army had been given a go-ahead for a decisive military operation for which the targeted areas would be vacated and all locals shifted to camps in Peshawar, Mardan and Durgai, creating a situation where the militants would be flushed out and any civilian
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An unnamed Frontier Government source said the Army had been given a go-ahead for a decisive military operation for which the targeted areas would be vacated and all locals shifted to camps in Peshawar, Mardan and Durgai, creating a situation where the militants would be flushed out and any civilian appearing in the area would be considered "enemy". However, military spokesman Major General Athar Abbas said the provincial Government had not yet decided to launch a military operation in Swat.
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May - 5 
The United States Special Envoy for Pakistan and Afghanistan Richard Holbrooke said on May 5 the Swat peace deal was dead, Daily Times reported. Appearing before the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, Holbrooke claimed that President Asif Ali Zardari had already told the US that the agreement would
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The United States Special Envoy for Pakistan and Afghanistan Richard Holbrooke said on May 5 the Swat peace deal was dead, Daily Times reported. Appearing before the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, Holbrooke claimed that President Asif Ali Zardari had already told the US that the agreement would not work. He said Zardari was opposed to the deal and had only signed it under pressure. Holbrooke suggested that the US might set benchmarks for its aid to Pakistan in various areas, adding that such conditions must not worsen the existing trust-deficit that was plaguing relations between Washington and Islamabad. He also said security assistance to Pakistan must be linked to results and the country must demonstrate its commitment to defeat al Qaeda and other terrorists on its soil. Holbrooke said the US "unambiguously" supported President Zardari and rejected the notion that Pakistan was collapsing. Any attempt by the Pakistani military to launch a coup against Zardari’s eight-month-old civilian government would be "terrible", he added. According to him, "We do not think Pakistan is a failed state… We think it is a state that is under extreme test. We have the same enemies."
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May - 5 
There was a panic among the people when the District Coordination Officer (DCO) Khushal Khan directed the residents of Mingora city, Amankot, Makanbagh, Qambar and Rahimabad areas to leave for safer places when the curfew was relaxed for five hours. Approximately 40,000 people fled the areas soon af
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There was a panic among the people when the District Coordination Officer (DCO) Khushal Khan directed the residents of Mingora city, Amankot, Makanbagh, Qambar and Rahimabad areas to leave for safer places when the curfew was relaxed for five hours. Approximately 40,000 people fled the areas soon after the directives of the DCO. The NWFP Information Minister said up to 500,000 people were expected to flee the Swat valley.
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May - 5 
While talking to reporters, Taliban spokesman Muslim Khan claimed militants were in control of ‘90 per cent’ of the valley and said their actions were in response to "Army violations of the peace deal." The NWFP Government, however, accused the Taliban of not honouring their commitments under the pe
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While talking to reporters, Taliban spokesman Muslim Khan claimed militants were in control of ‘90 per cent’ of the valley and said their actions were in response to "Army violations of the peace deal." The NWFP Government, however, accused the Taliban of not honouring their commitments under the peace deal despite the announcement of Darul Qaza in the Malakand Division.
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May - 6 
Taliban spokesman Muslim Khan told Al Jazeera on May 6 that they are in control of “90 percent” of the Swat valley, Daily Times reported. Blaming the breakdown of the Swat peace deal on the Pakistani military, Khan said the peace accord with the Government in Swat was over.
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Taliban spokesman Muslim Khan told Al Jazeera on May 6 that they are in control of “90 percent” of the Swat valley, Daily Times reported. Blaming the breakdown of the Swat peace deal on the Pakistani military, Khan said the peace accord with the Government in Swat was over.
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May - 6 
The Taliban have planted countless landmines and explosive devices around the populated areas of Swat to stop the people from leaving their homes and for using women and children as human shields against the military operation, a federal cabinet meeting was told on May 6, The News reported. However,
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The Taliban have planted countless landmines and explosive devices around the populated areas of Swat to stop the people from leaving their homes and for using women and children as human shields against the military operation, a federal cabinet meeting was told on May 6, The News reported. However, sources close to the Taliban denied mining of the area. They said those charging the Taliban with such inhuman acts may themselves have made such plans. They said the Taliban could not think of using civilians as human shields.
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May - 8 
More than one million people left their homes in the violence-hit Malakand region after a Taliban surge and a military response, NWFP Environment Minister Wajid Ali Khan said in a press briefing, reports Daily Times. “We appeal for international help to cope with the rising number of internally disp
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More than one million people left their homes in the violence-hit Malakand region after a Taliban surge and a military response, NWFP Environment Minister Wajid Ali Khan said in a press briefing, reports Daily Times. “We appeal for international help to cope with the rising number of internally displaced persons,” the provincial minister told a news briefing. “We need huge funds to provide [essentials] at the camps,” he further said, adding, “The funds provided by the federal Government are insufficient... We need billion of dollars.”
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May - 8 
The Security Forces (SFs) killed more than 140 Taliban militants as the military operation continued in the Swat valley of NWFP on May 8, Daily Times reported. 13 of them were killed in a major gun battle at Matta Police station. Seven soldiers were also killed as the SFs took control of Khawazakhel
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The Security Forces (SFs) killed more than 140 Taliban militants as the military operation continued in the Swat valley of NWFP on May 8, Daily Times reported. 13 of them were killed in a major gun battle at Matta Police station. Seven soldiers were also killed as the SFs took control of Khawazakhela and Chamtalai, ISPR Director General Maj Gen Athar Abbas said in a media briefing. He said military had launched a “full-scale operation” in Swat and the Taliban militants were on the run. He said the Taliban militants were trying to block an exodus of civilians through coercion, taking hostages, bombings and blocking roads with trees. According to Reuters, he said there were 4,000 to 5,000 Taliban militants in Swat, including Uzbeks and Tajiks. On May 8, troops targeted Taliban mountaintop training camps, ammunition dumps and command and communication centres in precision strikes. “Special care has been taken to strike identified targets and those targets which are away from populated areas,” he added. 10 Taliban militants were killed in attacks in Takhtaband, Qambar Top and the house of a local lawyer. Another 10 were killed in an attack by helicopter gunship in Kabal. Five Taliban militants, including Commander Akbar Ali were killed in Kanju. The ISPR Director General said the Taliban militants killed the brother of Khawazakhela union council nazim and abducted two Policemen from Sor Bridge in Khawazakhela. They also fired six rockets at the Circuit House in Mingora, killing a soldier. The ISPR said the Taliban resistance in Buner had been reduced considerably, but they were maintaining positions at Sultanwas and Pir Baba. A search and cordon operation continued in Lower Dir. 15 Taliban militants were killed in an attack on a Taliban compound in Maidan, General Abbas said, adding that they included two key commanders.
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May - 10 
Officials on May 10 said elite commando troops had been dropped into parts of Mingora for advance combat as the army lifted a curfew to allow thousands of civilians to flee.
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Officials on May 10 said elite commando troops had been dropped into parts of Mingora for advance combat as the army lifted a curfew to allow thousands of civilians to flee.
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May - 10 
The Security Forces (SFs) said on May 10 they had killed up to 200 Taliban militants in 24 hours during the on-going operation in Swat even as they secured the Shangla top and important towns and ridges in the Dir and Buner Districts, Daily Times reported. Troops engaged the Taliban in their Peochar
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The Security Forces (SFs) said on May 10 they had killed up to 200 Taliban militants in 24 hours during the on-going operation in Swat even as they secured the Shangla top and important towns and ridges in the Dir and Buner Districts, Daily Times reported. Troops engaged the Taliban in their Peochar headquarters and at hideouts in Kanju, Mingora, Banai Baba, Namal, Qambar, Fizagath, Tiligram and Chamtalai, the Inter-Services Public Relations said in an update. The Inter-Services Public Relations claimed that 140-150 militants were killed in an attack on the Banai Baba training camp in Shangla and 50-60 militants were killed in different areas of Swat valley, The News reported.
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May - 11 
In Mardan, an NWFP Government official said 100,000 displaced people were expected to join the 252,000 already there.
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In Mardan, an NWFP Government official said 100,000 displaced people were expected to join the 252,000 already there.
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May - 11 
The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said SFs shelled suspected positions of the militants in the Kabal, Tutano Bandai, Deda Khura, Peuchar, Sarband and Matta areas of Swat, killing 30 militants. Locals said that Shagai, Panr and emerald mines were also shelled. However, it could not be confir
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The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said SFs shelled suspected positions of the militants in the Kabal, Tutano Bandai, Deda Khura, Peuchar, Sarband and Matta areas of Swat, killing 30 militants. Locals said that Shagai, Panr and emerald mines were also shelled. However, it could not be confirmed whether there were casualties in these attacks. SFs also targeted militant hideouts in Peuchar, the Taliban headquarters in Matta sub-division, and Mingora killing 11 militants. At Ayub Bridge, the ISPR claimed troops killed seven militants. It said militants had a tunnel and hideouts in Qambar Ridge which were targeted by helicopters, resulting in the killing of three militants, besides injuring five others. Further, a militant was killed in Chamtalai when he was planting an improvised explosive device. The ISPR added that the SFs killed 52 militants in the ongoing operation in the last 24 hours. However, this claim could not be confirmed from independent sources.
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May - 11 
The Security Forces (SFs) have killed 700 Taliban militants in four days of military operations in the Swat District, Interior Minister Rehman Malik said on May 11, Daily Times reported. 20 SF personnel had also been killed, and nineteen others injured. “The operation will continue until the last Ta
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The Security Forces (SFs) have killed 700 Taliban militants in four days of military operations in the Swat District, Interior Minister Rehman Malik said on May 11, Daily Times reported. 20 SF personnel had also been killed, and nineteen others injured. “The operation will continue until the last Talib... We haven’t given them a chance. They are on the run. They were not expecting such an offensive,” Malik said.
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May - 12 
More than half a million people have fled fighting between the military and Taliban in Malakand and registered with authorities in the last 10 days, the UN refugee agency said on May 12, Daily Times reported. “As of late yesterday (Monday), a total of 501,496 displaced people from the new influx hav
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More than half a million people have fled fighting between the military and Taliban in Malakand and registered with authorities in the last 10 days, the UN refugee agency said on May 12, Daily Times reported. “As of late yesterday (Monday), a total of 501,496 displaced people from the new influx have now been formally registered ... since May 2,” the UNHCR said in a statement.
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May - 12 
Reports from Mingora and Peshawar quoting Frontier Corps (FC) sources said the Security Forces (SFs) killed 13 militants in the Torwarsak area of Buner District while there were reports about the killing of 37 Taliban militants in an assault in the Gulabad area of Dir Lower District and four others
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Reports from Mingora and Peshawar quoting Frontier Corps (FC) sources said the Security Forces (SFs) killed 13 militants in the Torwarsak area of Buner District while there were reports about the killing of 37 Taliban militants in an assault in the Gulabad area of Dir Lower District and four others in Swat on May 12, The News reported. Six bodies were found in parts of Swat Valley while a person was shot dead in Kanju. The SFs said four militants were killed in a clash triggered by Taliban’s firing at Mamdherai. Further, six beheaded bodies of unidentified persons were recovered from Suhrab Khan Chowk, Peopleís Chowk, Rahimabad, Landikas and Green Chowk. Arshad Kanju, resident of Kanju, was shot dead by unidentified gunmen.
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May - 12 
The Mardan Commissioner Khalid Umerzai said 432,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) have been registered in Mardan and nearby areas so far, and that 55,000 IDPs were residing in the camps in Mardan. Talking to Dunya News, he said 884 new tents had been pitched on May 11 while 1,600 more had been
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The Mardan Commissioner Khalid Umerzai said 432,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) have been registered in Mardan and nearby areas so far, and that 55,000 IDPs were residing in the camps in Mardan. Talking to Dunya News, he said 884 new tents had been pitched on May 11 while 1,600 more had been set up by the afternoon of May 12.
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May - 12 
The Pakistan Army dropped helicopter-borne troops, including commandos, in the stronghold of militants’ chief Maulana Fazlullah to conduct a search operation, while SFs made significant achievements in the operation named as Rah-e-Haq 4. “The troops have landed in the Peochar Valley in the north of
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The Pakistan Army dropped helicopter-borne troops, including commandos, in the stronghold of militants’ chief Maulana Fazlullah to conduct a search operation, while SFs made significant achievements in the operation named as Rah-e-Haq 4. “The troops have landed in the Peochar Valley in the north of Swat to accomplish the task assigned to them,” military spokesman Major-General Athar Abbas said at a press briefing in Islamabad on May 12. General Abbas said SFs in Swat, Shangla, Dir Lower and Buner Districts had achieved considerable successes and, so far, 751 militants and 29 SF personnel had been killed in the ongoing operation while 77 soldiers sustained injuries. “The operation was progressing smoothly, the militants were on the run and the criminal elements, which had earlier joined the Taliban militants in Swat, were deserting them along with new recruits,” he added. He said during the operation, measures had been taken to avoid collateral damage and only confirmed hideouts and strongholds in the valleys and on the mountains had been targeted from air. “The air strikes are conducted where definite information and intelligence is available about training camps, hideouts, munition dumps and logistics being used by the militants,” he added. The militants’ strongholds in Mingora, Peochar, Kabal, Khwazakhela and Shangla have been targeted successfully. Banni Baba Ziarat training camp of the militants has been destroyed, reportedly killing 200 militants. Since the start of the operation in Swat, 18 SF personnel were killed and 47 others injured. A cordon and search operation continues in Banni Baba Ziarat, where the militants have suffered heavily and 11 soldiers were injured in the last 24 hours. About Dir, he said the operation was still in progress in some areas and exchange of fire was continuing. In Buner, consolidation around Daggar continues and Sultanwas area has been surrounded by SFs, said Abbas. He said there were plans to kill high value targets, adding, some of the high value targets had already been killed in the operation. He said a timeframe for the completion of operation in Swat could not be given at the moment, but it was effort of the Government and the Army to bring the operation to an early end. The military spokesman also said a corps headquarters had been designated as Special Support Group for the management of the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs). He said Corps Commander Mangla, Lt-Gen Nadeem Ahmed, has been designated as the officer in charge of the group in view of his vast experience as the deputy chairman Earthquake Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Authority. Special Task Group representative Brigadier Amir said the number of IDPs, including the old IDPs from Bajaur, was close to 1.3 million. He ruled out terrorists reaching camps in the garb of IDPs, saying a screening process had been put in place to avert such a possibility.
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May - 12 
Tribal sources said the US drone attack appeared to have been a retaliatory strike for a cross-border assault on the US and NATO forces that originated from the Pakistani territory. There were reports that a Pakistani Taliban commander Noor Wazir had led the attack on the foreign forces in Afghanist
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Tribal sources said the US drone attack appeared to have been a retaliatory strike for a cross-border assault on the US and NATO forces that originated from the Pakistani territory. There were reports that a Pakistani Taliban commander Noor Wazir had led the attack on the foreign forces in Afghanistan. It was the second US drone attack in three days. Many people were killed in a similar attack in the SWAT on May 9.
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May - 13 
Normalcy is reportedly returning to Buner district where people have started harvesting their crops, the SMC said, adding that shops had also been opened. It said that steps were being taken to clear the Sultanwas area.
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Normalcy is reportedly returning to Buner district where people have started harvesting their crops, the SMC said, adding that shops had also been opened. It said that steps were being taken to clear the Sultanwas area.
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May - 13 
The number of people who have fled from fighting in the Swat District of NWFP and registered with authorities in the last 11 days has increased to more than 670,000, the United Nations (UN) refugee agency said on May 13, Daily Times reported. “The new figure of registered people since May 2 for the
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The number of people who have fled from fighting in the Swat District of NWFP and registered with authorities in the last 11 days has increased to more than 670,000, the United Nations (UN) refugee agency said on May 13, Daily Times reported. “The new figure of registered people since May 2 for the new influx is 670,906. That breaks down to 79,842 in the camps and 591,064 out of camps,” the UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) spokeswoman Ariane Rummery said. Those who were not sheltering in camps might be renting homes, staying with friends or relatives, or camping out elsewhere, Rummery said. The total number of those displaced by the latest fighting between the Pakistani military and the Taliban was likely to be higher, she added. The May 13 number was up from the 501,496 people who had registered as of late May 12.
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May - 14 
According to Daily Times, authorities have ordered a fresh crackdown on a charity linked to the Jama’at-ud-Da’awa (JD) following reports that dozens of its volunteers were at the centre of relief operations for the internally displaced persons (IDPs) in NWFP. The move to act against the Falah-e-Insa
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According to Daily Times, authorities have ordered a fresh crackdown on a charity linked to the Jama’at-ud-Da’awa (JD) following reports that dozens of its volunteers were at the centre of relief operations for the internally displaced persons (IDPs) in NWFP. The move to act against the Falah-e-Insaniat Foundation came after The Independent newspaper reported that JD volunteers were providing first aid and emergency assistance to the IDPs. A senior official, however, said on May 14 that the Government was aware of reports of the charity’s re-emergence and was ready to act. "The Interior Ministry has directed that no banned organisation will be allowed to resume activities under the garb of humanitarian work," he said.
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May - 14 
More than 834,000 civilians have fled the recent military operation in the NWFP, the UN refugee agency chief said on May 14, Daily Times reported. The figure was an increase of more than 163,000 people registered since May 13, as families piled onto trucks and tractors, or streamed on foot out of th
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More than 834,000 civilians have fled the recent military operation in the NWFP, the UN refugee agency chief said on May 14, Daily Times reported. The figure was an increase of more than 163,000 people registered since May 13, as families piled onto trucks and tractors, or streamed on foot out of the affected Districts to hastily set up camps. “Some 834,000 internally displaced persons have been registered so far. This is a massive, massive displacement in today’s world,” said UN High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres.
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May - 14 
The Chief of Army Staff, General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, visited Swat valley on May 14 and vowed to flush out militancy from the area, The News reported. Gen Kayani visited Swat and met field commanders and troops taking part in the operation. Appreciating the high morale of the troops, he reiterated
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The Chief of Army Staff, General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, visited Swat valley on May 14 and vowed to flush out militancy from the area, The News reported. Gen Kayani visited Swat and met field commanders and troops taking part in the operation. Appreciating the high morale of the troops, he reiterated the Army’s resolve to flush out militancy from Swat and defeat the militants.
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May - 15 
In Peuchar, the Taliban attacked a SFs’ check-post, which was retaliated and 13 militants were killed while one of their vehicles destroyed, the ISPR said in a statement. The troops had successfully been linked up in Odigram, where the Police force joined the Army troops. Between Matta town and Bar
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In Peuchar, the Taliban attacked a SFs’ check-post, which was retaliated and 13 militants were killed while one of their vehicles destroyed, the ISPR said in a statement. The troops had successfully been linked up in Odigram, where the Police force joined the Army troops. Between Matta town and Bar Bamakhel, SFs have reportedly succeeded in establishing several check-posts to strengthen their positions. The ISPR said troops have cleared Giga and Jura areas and reached northwest of Matta. During their advance towards village Adai, the SFs destroyed two compounds of the militants. In Sultanwas, where the Taliban were reported to have established their headquarters after gaining control of Buner District, SFs launched action against the militants, who fired heavy weapons on soldiers. One soldier was killed and three others injured in the firing. The SFs, in their action in Sultanwas and Kalpanai, killed 42 militants and claimed destroying 15 vehicles of the Taliban. SFs also arrested an important Taliban commander, Dawa Noor, who was involved in terrorist activities in Sultanwas and Daggar in Buner District. A member of the banned Tehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi (TNSM), Dawa Noor, instigated the civil population of the area against SFs on the FM radio and loudspeaker on a jeep. He is reported to have played a key role in facilitating taking over of Buner by the Taliban.
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May - 15 
In the second week of a full-scale military operation, the Government on May 15 offered talks with the Taliban if they lay down their arms, according to Dawn. The offer, which came at the end of a five-day debate of special National Assembly session on the situation in the Malakand Division of the N
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In the second week of a full-scale military operation, the Government on May 15 offered talks with the Taliban if they lay down their arms, according to Dawn. The offer, which came at the end of a five-day debate of special National Assembly session on the situation in the Malakand Division of the NWFP was made on behalf of Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, by Parliamentary Affairs Minister Babar Awan who, however, made it clear the military would not be withdrawn from the area before a "sustainable system of governance" was put in place there. Awan said, "Yes the door for dialogue is open, it is still open." Making what he called an "offer on behalf of the leader of the house" (or prime minister), the minister gave what he called a legal formula for a dialogue: "Remove your masks, come in the open, put the guns down, … only then talks can be successful. There is no other way for talks."
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May - 16 
47 Taliban militants were killed in various areas of Malkand Division in the NWFP during the last 24 hours, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) spokesman Major General Athar Abbas told reporters on May 16, according to Daily Times. Claiming significant achievements in the ongoing military ope
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47 Taliban militants were killed in various areas of Malkand Division in the NWFP during the last 24 hours, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) spokesman Major General Athar Abbas told reporters on May 16, according to Daily Times. Claiming significant achievements in the ongoing military operation against Taliban militants in the Malakand division he confirmed the presence of hardcore foreign militants fighting alongside the Taliban against Security Forces, adding, some ‘key’ foreign intelligence agencies were also involved in the insurgency. He also said that there were around 4,000 fighters in Swat, at least 10 percent of whom were not locals.
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May - 17 
A statement from the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said the troops were expanding their foothold in Peuchar, the area which served as the headquarters of Maulana Fazlullah and his fighters. The troops attacked a militant location in the area and secured an important position in the area. Fi
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A statement from the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said the troops were expanding their foothold in Peuchar, the area which served as the headquarters of Maulana Fazlullah and his fighters. The troops attacked a militant location in the area and secured an important position in the area. Fierce fighting took place for the control of the militant position, which resulted in casualties on either side. The ISPR said during the operation one officer was killed and two soldiers sustained injuries. The militants engaged SFs with rocket launchers and 12-7mm machine guns and in the retaliatory action, troops killed around 20 militants. In the Arkot and Nazarabad areas of Matta, the troops destroyed a compound of the militants from where the SFs faced resistance during their advance. The compound was surrounded and cleared from militants while five militants were killed during the operation. Following fierce fighting, SFs were successful in securing the area between Kanju and Nawan Kallay (Ayub Bridge) and from Ballogram to Takhta Band Bypass. The militants were reportedly putting up resistance on the outskirts of Mingora, the District headquarters of Swat, where intense clashes were reported.
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May - 17 
An AP report added that the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) Swat chapter spokesman Muslim Khan has said the Taliban would resist the SFs until the “last breath”. “We will fight until the last breath for the enforcement of Islamic law,” Muslim Khan told The Associated Press in a brief phone call from
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An AP report added that the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) Swat chapter spokesman Muslim Khan has said the Taliban would resist the SFs until the “last breath”. “We will fight until the last breath for the enforcement of Islamic law,” Muslim Khan told The Associated Press in a brief phone call from an undisclosed location on May 17.
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May - 17 
The NWFP Information Minister Iftikhar Hussain said on May 17 that the number of registered internally displaced persons (IDPs) – at relief camps and elsewhere – from Swat, Buner and Lower Dir Districts has risen to over 1.5 million, while the total number of IDPs is now estimated to be over 2 milli
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The NWFP Information Minister Iftikhar Hussain said on May 17 that the number of registered internally displaced persons (IDPs) – at relief camps and elsewhere – from Swat, Buner and Lower Dir Districts has risen to over 1.5 million, while the total number of IDPs is now estimated to be over 2 million, Daily Times reported. Addressing the media in provincial capital Peshawar, he said that 150,000 IDPs from various troubled areas had been registered over the last 24 hours.
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May - 18 
The office of the Additional Inspector General of Police (Investigation) NWFP revealed that Police foiled 94 terrorist attacks in 2008 and five in 2009. They recovered 52,408 kilograms of explosive materials, 23 suicide jackets, 729 hand grenades/dynamites, detonators and anti-tank mines and 134 roc
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The office of the Additional Inspector General of Police (Investigation) NWFP revealed that Police foiled 94 terrorist attacks in 2008 and five in 2009. They recovered 52,408 kilograms of explosive materials, 23 suicide jackets, 729 hand grenades/dynamites, detonators and anti-tank mines and 134 rocket launchers, bombs, missiles and mortar missile shells.
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May - 19 
The military is reported to have stated that approximately 15,000 troops are confronting about 4,000 well-armed militants in Swat. Authorities said more than 1,030 Taliban militants and at least 53 troops have been killed in a three-pronged onslaught launched in the districts of Lower Dir on April 2
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The military is reported to have stated that approximately 15,000 troops are confronting about 4,000 well-armed militants in Swat. Authorities said more than 1,030 Taliban militants and at least 53 troops have been killed in a three-pronged onslaught launched in the districts of Lower Dir on April 26, Buner on April 28 and Swat on May 8.
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May - 20 
Security Forces (SFs) have completely secured the Sultanwas area of Buner District, overcoming tough resistance and killing 80 militants, Director General of the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), Major General Athar Abbas said in Islamabad on May 20, The News reported. “Since Tuesday morning t
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Security Forces (SFs) have completely secured the Sultanwas area of Buner District, overcoming tough resistance and killing 80 militants, Director General of the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), Major General Athar Abbas said in Islamabad on May 20, The News reported. “Since Tuesday morning to the completion of operation before dawn, 80 militants have been killed,” Abbas told a press briefing. However, he said there was no independent confirmation of the casualties due to the ground situation in the area. Sultanwas was the main stronghold of the militants in Buner, where they had made concrete underground bunkers and ammunition dumps. He said six vehicles of the militants, which were under use by terrorists clad in the Elite Force uniform, were also destroyed during the operation. SFs encountered seven improvised explosive devices (IEDs) in the area, which were defused. Abbas said locals had also formed a Lashkar (militia) to flush out the terrorists before the launch of the operation, but the militants had managed to take the control of the area after a suicide attack. The military spokesman said 1,057 militants and 58 SF personnel had been killed in the Swat, Dir and Buner Districts since April 27. He said the foreign nationals arrested so far included Afghans, Uzbeks and Arabs. “The strategy is to kill the maximum number of terrorists. The militant leaders are paying $50 to 60 per day to the fighters,” he said.
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May - 20 
Security Forces on May 20 claimed to have killed over 200 militants during the ongoing military operation in the Maidan area of Lower Dir District since the launch of the offensive, The News reported. Operational Commander Brigadier Amal Zada, in charge of the ongoing military operation in Lower Dir
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Security Forces on May 20 claimed to have killed over 200 militants during the ongoing military operation in the Maidan area of Lower Dir District since the launch of the offensive, The News reported. Operational Commander Brigadier Amal Zada, in charge of the ongoing military operation in Lower Dir, told reporters in District headquarters Timergara that over 200 Taliban militants had been killed so far, while 14 Security Force personnel were also killed and 30 others injured. He said a large number of militants had left the area in the guise of internally displaced persons. He, however, said they had cordoned off the militant infested areas and established checkpoints in Hayaserai and Lal Qila areas of Maidan.
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May - 21 
Security Forces said on May 21 that ‘a number of Taliban’ – including an important commander – and five soldiers were killed in 24 hours in Swat, in the latest update on the military operations, Daily Times reported. “An important ... [Taliban] commander, Abu Tariq, was killed and seven Taliban were
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Security Forces said on May 21 that ‘a number of Taliban’ – including an important commander – and five soldiers were killed in 24 hours in Swat, in the latest update on the military operations, Daily Times reported. “An important ... [Taliban] commander, Abu Tariq, was killed and seven Taliban were apprehended… A number of Taliban were killed, while five soldiers also died in Kanju and Takhtaband area,” said the Inter-Services Public Relations. The Security Forces (SFs) have cleared a number of Taliban hideouts in Peochar valley, and are conducting search and destroy operations that have resulted in several battles between the Taliban and the troops. The SFs have reportedly secured and cleared the area up to Shahid Khapa, and are strengthening their positions around Takhtaband Bridge, Barikot, Gokdara and Udigram areas. The SFs also attacked Banai Baba Ziarat on May 20 and secured the highest point in the area.
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May - 23 
At least 17 Taliban militants, including a ‘commander’, were killed when troops launched a counter-insurgency Rah-e-Rast operation at Mingora in Swat of NWFP on May 23, chief military spokesman Major General Athar Abbas said, reports Daily Times. He said the troops had secured a part of the city fr
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At least 17 Taliban militants, including a ‘commander’, were killed when troops launched a counter-insurgency Rah-e-Rast operation at Mingora in Swat of NWFP on May 23, chief military spokesman Major General Athar Abbas said, reports Daily Times. He said the troops had secured a part of the city from the Circuit House to Makan Bagh. Battles to secure Nawan Killi have begun and a link up between forces coming from Fiza Ghat to Whataki Chowk and Ayub Bridge to Nawan Killi has been completed. Intense clashes were reported from Nishat Chowk in Mingora. The report adds that a suicide bomber was shot dead and an explosives-laden vehicle was destroyed in Makanzai area of the city. On the Qambar Ridge overlooking Mingora, three caves with large quantities of ammunition and rations were discovered during a search and destroy operation. The Taliban militants are on the run in small groups from their former Peochar stronghold. Troops have secured the vital Wanai Bridge linking Matta with Peochar. Gen Abbas said there were about 1,500 ‘hardcore militants’ still fighting in Swat, and that the army would try to complete the operation in eight weeks.
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May - 23 
Police in Charsadda District of the NWFP have said they arrested seven Taliban militants during a raid in the night of May 23, Daily Times reported. Charsadda Police chief Riaz Khan said the arrested men included Qari Ihsanullah, a Taliban commander suspected of carrying out attacks both in Pakistan
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Police in Charsadda District of the NWFP have said they arrested seven Taliban militants during a raid in the night of May 23, Daily Times reported. Charsadda Police chief Riaz Khan said the arrested men included Qari Ihsanullah, a Taliban commander suspected of carrying out attacks both in Pakistan and Afghanistan. “We recovered three suicide jackets, explosives and assault rifles from their possession,” he said.
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May - 24 
Troops have secured several important areas in Mingora, including a crossing infamous for beheadings carried out by the Taliban, said Security Forces (SFs) on May 24 as the military killed 10 more militants in various areas of Swat District, Daily Times reported. The Inter-Services Public Relations
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Troops have secured several important areas in Mingora, including a crossing infamous for beheadings carried out by the Taliban, said Security Forces (SFs) on May 24 as the military killed 10 more militants in various areas of Swat District, Daily Times reported. The Inter-Services Public Relations said 10 militants and three soldiers were killed in gun-battles in various areas of Swat, while 14 militants were also arrested. Five of the militants were killed in Malam Jabba when the SFs were tipped off about their presence in the area. The troops secured various important areas in Mingora – including Wattakai Chowk, Nawakilli Chowk, Nishat Chowk, Sirafe Chowk, Gulshan Chowk, Green Chowk, Haji Baba Chowk and Sohrab Chowk – in the 24 hours preceding the latest ISPR update on the operation. Green Chowk is infamous for beheadings carried out by the Taliban. The military said troops defused four improvised explosive devices (IED) during the operation in Mingora. Further, after surrounding Peochar valley, troops entered Peochar village and seized a huge cache of arms from Taliban hideouts and overtook a factory manufacturing bombs and IEDs.
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May - 25 
The Security Forces (SFs) on May 25 claimed to have secured the training centre and logistic base of militants in the Malam Jabba area of Swat Valley, The News reported. SFs also killed four militants during operations in the Fizagat and Peuchar areas and arrested eight others. According to the Inte
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The Security Forces (SFs) on May 25 claimed to have secured the training centre and logistic base of militants in the Malam Jabba area of Swat Valley, The News reported. SFs also killed four militants during operations in the Fizagat and Peuchar areas and arrested eight others. According to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), SFs faced stiff resistance from the militants in Malam Jabba. However, it said the troops secured Malam Jabba, believed to be one of the strongholds of the militants in the valley. Located on main line of communication that links the Swat Valley with Mansehra, the area with thick forest was being used as a training centre and logistic base by the militants. SFs also secured Fizagat, a few kilometers north of Mingora city, and the area up to Watakai. During the operation, two militants were killed and six soldiers were wounded in an encounter. One armed personnel carrier and a huge cache of arms and ammunition were also recovered. After resumption of the operation in Peuchar, a heavy exchange of fire took place between the two sides. During the encounter, two militants were killed and five others arrested. The ISPR said that the militants were on the run from the valley. Continuing with operations in Qambar, a stronghold of the militants situated three kilometers ahead of Mingora, troops secured the village and Qambar ridge, besides clearing six tunnels. The area up to Grid Station, Amankot and a junction in Saidu Khuar were also reportedly secured. Odigram was also controlled where three militants were arrested in a search and cordon operation
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May - 25 May - 26
Security Forces (SFs) have gained control of half of Mingora city and killed 29 militants in various areas of Swat Valley during the last 24 hours besides arresting 14 others, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General Major General Athar Abbas said on May 26, The News reported. “Si
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Security Forces (SFs) have gained control of half of Mingora city and killed 29 militants in various areas of Swat Valley during the last 24 hours besides arresting 14 others, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General Major General Athar Abbas said on May 26, The News reported. “Six soldiers also laid down their lives and 11 others sustained injuries,” he told reporters at a press briefing in Islamabad. “More than half of Mingora is under the army’s control. We have plugged all escape routes for militants,” said Abbas, adding that pockets of “hardcore militants” remained. The military spokesman said the operation was progressing well despite stiff resistance by the militants. He said street fights and house-to-house search was going on in Mingora city. Athar said 18 militants were killed in Mingora during an encounter and seven others were arrested when they were trying to escape towards Buner District. He said four improvised explosive devices (IEDs) were also defused in the area. The Malakand-Qambar-Mingora road has reportedly been opened for traffic. In Qambar, SFs defused 12 IEDs and also recovered huge cache of arms and ammunition. The Kanju-Kabal road has also been cleared and fierce fighting is reportedly underway for securing Kabal. In Peuchar, the military spokesman said SFs continued a cordon and search operation and destroyed Taliban strongholds at Mano Derai. During the exchange of fire, three militants were killed while three others were arrested. A remote controlled IED was also defused at Pir Killay by the troops. Security forces have also cleared Sakhra Valley, the main route of the militants’ movement from Peuchar towards Kalam and other areas. About Buner, he said 90 percent area of the District had been cleared although some terrorists are present at Pir Baba. During search at check-posts, four militants have been arrested, he said. He added that in the night of May 25, about 100 to 120 militants attacked the Kalpani post in Dir Lower District from three directions and the attack was repulsed and militants suffered heavy casualties. Eight bodies have been recovered in close vicinity of the check-post. Two SF personnel were also killed in the incident and three others were wounded. The military spokesman rejected reports that a fresh group of trained terrorists had entered the troubled area. To a question as to why the senior leadership of the Taliban could not be targeted, he said it was essential to keep certain things confidential to achieve success. The terrorists are being surrounded and their morale is going down, he claimed.
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May - 26 
According to Daily Times, the Taliban said they wanted to return to the peace deal with the NWFP Government, similar to the one that collapsed in April 2009 and triggered the military operation in Swat and Malakand, CNN said on May 26. The Tehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi (TNSM) chief Maulana S
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According to Daily Times, the Taliban said they wanted to return to the peace deal with the NWFP Government, similar to the one that collapsed in April 2009 and triggered the military operation in Swat and Malakand, CNN said on May 26. The Tehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi (TNSM) chief Maulana Sufi Muhammad claimed the Taliban in Swat District were willing to disarm if the Government implemented Sharia (Islamic law) in the region, his spokesman said.
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May - 26 
The UN is considering asking Pakistan to pause its offensive against the Taliban in order to provide aid to those trapped in the conflict, a top UN official has said, Daily Times reported. Thousands of civilians are trapped in areas where aid workers say aerial bombardment by the military and landmi
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The UN is considering asking Pakistan to pause its offensive against the Taliban in order to provide aid to those trapped in the conflict, a top UN official has said, Daily Times reported. Thousands of civilians are trapped in areas where aid workers say aerial bombardment by the military and landmines planted by the Taliban have forced people to remain in their homes with little food and water, communications or medicines and no power. “We are ... very concerned about those still trapped inside the conflict zone,” Manuel Bessler, head of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Pakistan, told AlertNet. He also said, “A humanitarian pause is a subject of discussion and with the very good liaison we have with the armed forces, it is obviously something that we would not shy away from asking for.” Around 200,000 civilians are trapped in Swat and tens of thousands in Buner and Lower Dir Districts. Bessler said that while Pakistan is granting access to the conflict area, the UN’s internal security division did not have enough information to give staff the green light to work in the war zone. He said while the army had begun distributing food and providing medical assistance, “more needs to be done”.
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May - 27 
Security Forces (SFs) said on May 27 they would clear Mingora town in Swat District of the Taliban within two to three days, as 12 more militants were killed in the ongoing military operation, Daily Times reported. Mingora Force Commander Brigadier Tahir Hamid told the media that SFs had secured 70
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Security Forces (SFs) said on May 27 they would clear Mingora town in Swat District of the Taliban within two to three days, as 12 more militants were killed in the ongoing military operation, Daily Times reported. Mingora Force Commander Brigadier Tahir Hamid told the media that SFs had secured 70 percent of Mingora city. He said the army was chasing the Taliban through the streets. “We tried not to use helicopter gunships in populated areas to avoid collateral damage,” he added. According to an Inter-Services Public Relations statement, one solider was killed during the operation in the last 24 hours. It said the SFs had distributed four truckloads of relief items among the people of Mingora. However, it added, Taliban were attacking and snatching relief items being dispatched for stranded people of Bharain, Madyan and Kalam. It said the areas up to Sultanwas in Buner, and Mohmand Agency, had been cleared of the Taliban.
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May - 27 
The NWFP Government has received reports that Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan Swat chief Maulana Fazlullah has been killed in the military operation in Swat, provincial Information Minister Iftikhar Hussain said on May 27, Daily Times reported. He told the media in capital Peshawar that several key milit
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The NWFP Government has received reports that Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan Swat chief Maulana Fazlullah has been killed in the military operation in Swat, provincial Information Minister Iftikhar Hussain said on May 27, Daily Times reported. He told the media in capital Peshawar that several key militant commanders’ deaths had already been confirmed. The NWFP government has also decided to place head money on the Taliban leadership, he added.
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May - 27 May - 28
According to the ISPR media update, a known militant commander identified as Ghaniur Rehman has been arrested by the troops during the search and cordon operation. He was allegedly involved in killing police officials. A local elder said there were some 40-50 militants in Bahrain but they fled the t
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According to the ISPR media update, a known militant commander identified as Ghaniur Rehman has been arrested by the troops during the search and cordon operation. He was allegedly involved in killing police officials. A local elder said there were some 40-50 militants in Bahrain but they fled the town on May 27-evening when they came to know about the arrival of the SFs. “They (Taliban) are avoiding fighting with the security forces now and are running,” he said and added the militants had shifted to Kalam. The elder said the group of Taliban militants in Kalam was commanded by one Khushmir, a resident of Gilgit. He said five militants were killed in a clash in Bahrain. The ISPR said an explosive-laden vehicle was destroyed and two militants were killed at Satal, four kilometers short of Bahrain town. Though there were conflicting reports about casualties in the Satal incident, a man from Kalam claimed that a Taliban commander, identified as Wazifa, had been killed in the clash along with seven other militants. He claimed a ‘deputy commander’ of the militants in the area, Hameedi, confirmed the death of Wazifa. Some residents of Kanju, who managed to reach the provincial capital Peshawar on May 28, said Mingora, Kanju and Kabal towns were almost cleared as the Taliban had vacated these areas. “They have moved towards mountains,” they said. Two militants, according to the ISPR, were killed during an exchange of fire between the Taliban and SFs in Malam Jabba. The SFs also continued action in Peuchar village and carried out cordon and search operations there. The troops also ambushed a group of 15-20 militants at Manodherai and killed three of them while four others were arrested. One soldier sustained injuries in the incident. Further, a convoy of eight Army trucks carrying relief and food destined for Barikot and Mingora was ambushed at Landakay near Barikot. Four soldiers, the ISPR said, were killed in the incident but relief goods were transported safely and distributed among stranded people of Mingora.
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May - 28 
Reports indicated that after the second blast at Qissa Khwani, the Police had an encounter with some suspected militants in the nearby streets. The firing between the militants, who had reportedly made a child hostage, continued for almost an hour. Police shot dead two of the suspects and arrested
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Reports indicated that after the second blast at Qissa Khwani, the Police had an encounter with some suspected militants in the nearby streets. The firing between the militants, who had reportedly made a child hostage, continued for almost an hour. Police shot dead two of the suspects and arrested an equal number from a building, Inspector General Police Malik Naveed said.
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May - 28 
Security Forces (SFs) on May 28 entered Bahrain, while seven more militants were killed and four others, including an important commander, were arrested during the last 24 hours in the ongoing operation in Swat Valley, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said, The News reported. Four soldiers
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Security Forces (SFs) on May 28 entered Bahrain, while seven more militants were killed and four others, including an important commander, were arrested during the last 24 hours in the ongoing operation in Swat Valley, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said, The News reported. Four soldiers were also killed while 12 others sustained injuries in clashes between SFs and militants in different areas of the valley.
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May - 29 
According to the ISPR, 1,300 militants and 90 SF personnel have been killed so far during the ongoing operation, The News reported. Official sources said the troops were moving towards Kalam and would soon enter the area. Troops are also reportedly ensuring that the militants do not return to the ar
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According to the ISPR, 1,300 militants and 90 SF personnel have been killed so far during the ongoing operation, The News reported. Official sources said the troops were moving towards Kalam and would soon enter the area. Troops are also reportedly ensuring that the militants do not return to the areas cleared of them.
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May - 29 
Pakistan on May 29 hiked a reward for Maulana Fazlullah, the Taliban chief in Swat valley, wanted dead or alive, to PKR 50 million, 10 times more than an original bounty, The News reported. "The federal government has announced 50 million rupees," an Interior Ministry spokesman told AFP. "The five m
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Pakistan on May 29 hiked a reward for Maulana Fazlullah, the Taliban chief in Swat valley, wanted dead or alive, to PKR 50 million, 10 times more than an original bounty, The News reported. "The federal government has announced 50 million rupees," an Interior Ministry spokesman told AFP. "The five million rupees head money was announced by the provincial government in the North West Frontier Province (NWFP)," he added. On May 29, the Interior Ministry also published a list of "miscreant-terrorists" from the Taliban leadership in Swat and District capital Mingora, offering PKR 50 million for Fazlullah and PKR 10 million each for 15 of his aides.
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May - 29 
Police have arrested 39 suspected Taliban militants hiding among the IDPs of Swat and other regions of Malakand, a senior officer said on May 29, Daily Times reported. The arrests, made in the past few days, were the first of the Taliban among more than two million people who have fled the fighting.
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Police have arrested 39 suspected Taliban militants hiding among the IDPs of Swat and other regions of Malakand, a senior officer said on May 29, Daily Times reported. The arrests, made in the past few days, were the first of the Taliban among more than two million people who have fled the fighting. One dozen of the militants were arrested in IDP camps south of the Swat region, while the others were arrested from houses where the IDPs were staying with relatives or were renting, said Syed Akhtar Ali Shah, the Police chief in Mardan, a town that hosts some of the approximately one dozen relief camps. "These Taliban have mixed up themselves among the refugees," Shah told The Associated Press. They had cut their hair short and shaved their beards in a bid to disguise themselves from authorities and blend in with civilians, he said.
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May - 29 
Security Forces (SFs) have taken control of Bahrain and cleared Peochar village in the Swat District, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said on May 29 as SFs killed 28 Taliban militants, including commander Khush Mir Khan a.k.a. Abu Huzaifa, Daily Times reported. "The security forces have s
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Security Forces (SFs) have taken control of Bahrain and cleared Peochar village in the Swat District, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said on May 29 as SFs killed 28 Taliban militants, including commander Khush Mir Khan a.k.a. Abu Huzaifa, Daily Times reported. "The security forces have successfully secured Bahrain," said the ISPR in a statement, adding that the army had also arrested seven Taliban militants from various areas of Swat. The ISPR said five soldiers and two civilians were also injured in an exchange of fire. Some of the heaviest recent fighting is reported to have taken place in Bahrain. In a cordon-and-search operation, the SFs cleared the Taliban stronghold of Peochar village. "The army destroyed Taliban hideouts, including a madrassa, and seized 12 UN-registered vehicles," said the ISPR, adding that four tunnels storing rations stolen from NGOs were also discovered and a ‘huge cache of arms’ confiscated.
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May - 29 
The number of Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) has crossed the three million mark, according to the NWFP Government, Dawn reported. Information Minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain said at a press conference in provincial capital Peshawar on May 29 that the number of IDPs now stood at 3.4 million — 2.8
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The number of Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) has crossed the three million mark, according to the NWFP Government, Dawn reported. Information Minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain said at a press conference in provincial capital Peshawar on May 29 that the number of IDPs now stood at 3.4 million — 2.8 million of them from Malakand Division alone. He said the provincial Government was determined to provide all possible facilities to the displaced people and a substantial number of lady doctors had been deputed to look after them.
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May - 30 
Security Forces (SFs) have cleared Mingora city in the NWFP of the Taliban and destroyed the stronghold of the militant commanders, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General Major General Athar Abbas said on May 30, according to Daily Times. Addressing a joint press conference with Inf
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Security Forces (SFs) have cleared Mingora city in the NWFP of the Taliban and destroyed the stronghold of the militant commanders, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General Major General Athar Abbas said on May 30, according to Daily Times. Addressing a joint press conference with Information Minister Qamar Zaman Qaira, he said 25 Taliban militants were killed during the last 24 hours, including commanders, Abu Saeed Misbahud Din and Sultan Khan. He said SFs have successfully secured Nawagai and Najigram, and seized a large cache of arms and ammunition. He also said that the training centre of known Taliban commanders Lal Din, Said Jalil and Mian Said Liaq have been destroyed in Peochar, adding, five 100-foot-long tunnels have also been demolished. He said the SFs have arrested three Afghans from Upper Dir during their search operation. Responding to questions, he said 1,217 Taliban militants were killed and 79 arrested since the start of the military offensive on April 26. In the same period, 81 SF personnel were also killed while 250 others sustained injuries, he added. He said the Government was considering training retired soldiers to serve as Policemen.
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May - 31 
The military operation in Swat District will be completed in two to three days, Secretary of Defence Syed Athar Ali said on May 31, Daily Times reported. Speaking at a security summit in Singapore and talking to Reuters later for an interview, Ali said the military operation in Swat had “met almost
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The military operation in Swat District will be completed in two to three days, Secretary of Defence Syed Athar Ali said on May 31, Daily Times reported. Speaking at a security summit in Singapore and talking to Reuters later for an interview, Ali said the military operation in Swat had “met almost complete success”, with only 5 percent to 10 percent of the job remaining. “Hopefully within the next two to three days these pockets of resistance will be cleared,” Ali told the Shangri-La Dialogue, an annual meeting of defence ministers, officials and experts. Ali said the army conducting the anti-Taliban operation in Swat would remain in Swat until the Police took firm control of the situation.
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May - 31 
The NWFP Minister for Information, Mian Iftikhar Hussain, has confirmed the death and arrest of the second and third-tier leadership of the militants during the military operation in Malakand Division and hoped their top leadership would also be neutralized soon, The News reported. Briefing journali
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The NWFP Minister for Information, Mian Iftikhar Hussain, has confirmed the death and arrest of the second and third-tier leadership of the militants during the military operation in Malakand Division and hoped their top leadership would also be neutralized soon, The News reported. Briefing journalists on May 31 on the latest situation in Malakand, the minister said the political parties had defeated the militants in the political arena and now, it was the turn of Security Forces to overcome insurgents in the battlefield. “Security forces must capitalise on the ideal situation, which is now in their favour as the whole nation has backed them against the Taliban,” he said, adding: “The NWFP government wants completion of a successful operation in the shortest possible time, so that the displaced families return to their hometowns.”
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June - 1 
Taliban militants abducted a convoy of 30 buses carrying more than 500 students and staff of the Razmak Cadet College (of North Waziristan) in Bannu in the NWFP, Daily Times reported. They were on their way to Bannu after the college closed for its summer vacation, town Police chief Iqbal Marwat sai
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Taliban militants abducted a convoy of 30 buses carrying more than 500 students and staff of the Razmak Cadet College (of North Waziristan) in Bannu in the NWFP, Daily Times reported. They were on their way to Bannu after the college closed for its summer vacation, town Police chief Iqbal Marwat said. “Only two buses carrying some 25 students reached Bannu,” Marwat said, adding that about 28 buses carrying around 400 students were missing. “They have been kidnapped by Taliban militants,” Marwat told AFP. The college is an army-run educational institution for civilians. Those kidnapped include students and civilian staff, he said. Officials told Daily Times the convoy reached Kajori check-post on the border of North Waziristan and Bannu safe, but were abducted from Marwat Kanal area in Baqakhel Police precincts. “Militants started firing in the air to stop the vehicles and then they forcibly drove them to unknown place,” Javed Alam, vice principal of the college, told a private television channel.
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June - 1 
Troops are reported to have dislodged militants from most of the towns in Buner District, but Pacha Killay and its surrounding areas are still believed to be infested with the Taliban militants. The militants on May 31 reportedly beheaded three persons in Pacha Killay for spying for the SFs. The Bun
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Troops are reported to have dislodged militants from most of the towns in Buner District, but Pacha Killay and its surrounding areas are still believed to be infested with the Taliban militants. The militants on May 31 reportedly beheaded three persons in Pacha Killay for spying for the SFs. The Buner District Coordination Officer (DCO) Yahya Akhundzada said the situation in Pacha Killay had improved. He, however, admitted that there was still a problem beyond Pacha Killay. “Pir Baba, Gokand and Karakar are still volatile, but action will certainly be taken to clear these areas of the militants,” the DCO said. About the overall security situation in the District, Akhundzada said normalcy was returning to Buner. Yahya told The News that 50 per cent employees had resumed their duties on June 1, while others had conveyed by phone that they would rejoin on June 2 (today). About some reports of suspension of Police officials, he said more than 100 Policemen had been suspended for failing to resume their duties.
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June - 3 
A total of 220 schools were reportedly blown up by the militants in Swat, during the ongoing wave of militancy while more than 10 private institutions were also destroyed. More than 60,000 students could not appear in the intermediate exam and all of them are now living in other cities as displaced
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A total of 220 schools were reportedly blown up by the militants in Swat, during the ongoing wave of militancy while more than 10 private institutions were also destroyed. More than 60,000 students could not appear in the intermediate exam and all of them are now living in other cities as displaced persons. This was revealed in a report released by the Global Peace Council (GPC) on June 3. President of the GPC, Ziaullah Yousafzai, while addressing a press conference at the Peshawar Press Club, said the 92-year-old infrastructure of Swat had been completely destroyed during the insurgency in the valley. He also said students of the entire District were vulnerable to the post traumatic effects and most of them had already developed psychological diseases.
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June - 3 
US President Barack Obama is seeking an additional $200 million to help the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) of Swat and Malakand Division, the US Special Representative for Pakistan and Afghanistan Richard Hobrooke said on June 3, Daily Times reported. “Today, the president (Obama) requested the
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US President Barack Obama is seeking an additional $200 million to help the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) of Swat and Malakand Division, the US Special Representative for Pakistan and Afghanistan Richard Hobrooke said on June 3, Daily Times reported. “Today, the president (Obama) requested the Congress of the US to allocate an additional $200 million,” he told a joint press conference with President Asif Ali Zardari and Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi in Islamabad. He said the reconstruction phase would be very important and critical, and assured full American help and support in this phase. “We are committed to helping you strengthen democracy, to defeat militants in the west who threaten democracy in Pakistan, democracy in Afghanistan and stability throughout the region,” he said. The US has already announced $110 million for the IDPs, and Holbrooke said if the additional $200 million were allocated, the total US aid would exceed $300 million. The special envoy also urged other nations, including the European Union and the Gulf Cooperation Council to do more to assist Pakistan deal with the IDP crisis.
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June - 3 
Army spokesman Major General Athar Abbas told reporters on a military-organised tour of Mingora town that it could take another two months of fighting to overthrow the militants from all their hideouts in Swat and the surrounding areas. He added, though, that the two months timetable was “a rough es
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Army spokesman Major General Athar Abbas told reporters on a military-organised tour of Mingora town that it could take another two months of fighting to overthrow the militants from all their hideouts in Swat and the surrounding areas. He added, though, that the two months timetable was “a rough estimate.” Earlier, Major General Ijaz Awan, a senior commander in Mingora, said the military hoped about 2,500 Police personnel would return to Mingora by end of June 2009 to take over security, but that the army would probably have to stay in the Swat region for at least another year to fully secure it.
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June - 4 
Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani said on June 4 that the tide in Swat had decisively turned with the Army’s resolve to defeat the terrorists, according to The News. Expressing the Army’s commitment to aggressively hunt high-value targets, Gen Kayani announced that the Army
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Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani said on June 4 that the tide in Swat had decisively turned with the Army’s resolve to defeat the terrorists, according to The News. Expressing the Army’s commitment to aggressively hunt high-value targets, Gen Kayani announced that the Army would continue carrying out operations at a limited scale with an objective of clearing the remaining hideouts and sanctuaries of terrorists. Addressing the 119th Corps Commanders’ Conference held at the General Headquarters in Rawalpindi, Kayani said major population centres and roads leading to the Swat valley had been largely cleared off the organised resistance by terrorists. The COAS said isolated incidents of violence would continue and would have to be managed. “The Army will stay in Swat to provide security to the people,” he added.
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June - 5 
President Asif Ali Zardari on June 5 directed the NWFP Government to immediately fill all vacant posts in the provincial Police department, Daily Times reported. Presidential spokesman Farhatullah Babar said Zardari had issued the directive after consulting with Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and
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President Asif Ali Zardari on June 5 directed the NWFP Government to immediately fill all vacant posts in the provincial Police department, Daily Times reported. Presidential spokesman Farhatullah Babar said Zardari had issued the directive after consulting with Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and the Finance Division. Babar said the president ordered that 2,500 former-defence personnel should be recruited in the Police department on a two-year contract by the end of June 2009. The recruits would be deployed in the troubled regions of the NWFP, he added. The expenditure incurred would be borne by the federal government and the adjutant general of the Pakistan Army would act as the focal person for recruiting the ex-defence personnel.
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June - 7 
During a separate press conference in Peshawar, the NWFP Information Minister Iftikhar Hussain blamed the Taliban for killing the two TNSM leaders. “There were differences between the TNSM and the Taliban. We are 90 percent certain the terrorists attacked the convoy to kill the two men,” he said. “W
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During a separate press conference in Peshawar, the NWFP Information Minister Iftikhar Hussain blamed the Taliban for killing the two TNSM leaders. “There were differences between the TNSM and the Taliban. We are 90 percent certain the terrorists attacked the convoy to kill the two men,” he said. “We were told by the TNSM leaders during negotiations that the Taliban were threatening them. So, there should be no doubt in anyone’s mind about who carried out (Saturday’s) attack,” he added.
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June - 7 
The ISPR Director General, meanwhile, said SFs had cleared Barabonde, and had established check-posts at Kuzabonde and Goraghat. He said 17 Taliban militants had been killed in the Qambar sub-division during the past 24 hours, adding one soldier had also died in the process. He said the Taliban had
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The ISPR Director General, meanwhile, said SFs had cleared Barabonde, and had established check-posts at Kuzabonde and Goraghat. He said 17 Taliban militants had been killed in the Qambar sub-division during the past 24 hours, adding one soldier had also died in the process. He said the Taliban had fired rockets on a check-post of the SFs in Khawazakhela, resulting in two soldiers being killed and one being injured. He said according to estimates, three to four percent of the terrorists killed or arrested by the SFs are foreigners, including Arabs, Central Asians or Afghans.
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June - 17 
A security official said an intelligence agency had warned of a possible terrorist attack on passenger aircraft by a militant group based in Darra Adamkhel. Tariq Afridi, leader of the banned Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan in Darra Adamkhel, had threatened to attack passenger aircraft if the Government d
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A security official said an intelligence agency had warned of a possible terrorist attack on passenger aircraft by a militant group based in Darra Adamkhel. Tariq Afridi, leader of the banned Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan in Darra Adamkhel, had threatened to attack passenger aircraft if the Government did not stop operations against militants in Malakand, Bajaur and other areas by June 15. The militant had previously been associated with the banned Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ).
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June - 18 
A private TV channel quoted Defence Minister Ahmad Mukhtar as saying on June 18 that the military offensive in Swat is nearly over and the Government has achieved its targets, according to Daily Times. Talking to the channel, Mukhtar said internally displaced persons would be able to return homes by
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A private TV channel quoted Defence Minister Ahmad Mukhtar as saying on June 18 that the military offensive in Swat is nearly over and the Government has achieved its targets, according to Daily Times. Talking to the channel, Mukhtar said internally displaced persons would be able to return homes by June 20.
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June - 21 
SFs secured the areas around Barko Sar, Roringar, Nalkot, Wenai, Bartana and Pushtunai and also set up a check-post at Akhun Killay, Dadhran Road, the ISPR said.
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SFs secured the areas around Barko Sar, Roringar, Nalkot, Wenai, Bartana and Pushtunai and also set up a check-post at Akhun Killay, Dadhran Road, the ISPR said.
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June - 22 
Interior Minister Rehman Malik said on June 22 that Tehrik-i-Taliban (TTP) Swat unit chief Maulana Fazlullah had been trapped by the Security Forces (SFs), Dawn reported. The minister told reporters in Islamabad that the militant leader had been spotted and there was no question of his escape. He sa
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Interior Minister Rehman Malik said on June 22 that Tehrik-i-Taliban (TTP) Swat unit chief Maulana Fazlullah had been trapped by the Security Forces (SFs), Dawn reported. The minister told reporters in Islamabad that the militant leader had been spotted and there was no question of his escape. He said “By and large we know the location where he is hiding.” “But the question is that it is not one Fazlullah. There are many Fazlullahs who have to be eliminated,” he added.
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June - 22 
The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director-General Major General Athar Abbas said at a media briefing in Islamabad on June 22 that the Security Forces (SFs) are in the final phase of eliminating terrorist hideouts and camps in Swat, The News reported. Abbas said: “In the north, Biha Valley
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The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director-General Major General Athar Abbas said at a media briefing in Islamabad on June 22 that the Security Forces (SFs) are in the final phase of eliminating terrorist hideouts and camps in Swat, The News reported. Abbas said: “In the north, Biha Valley — the last stronghold of terrorists — has been fully secured and in the west, Shamozai area is being cleared. Search operations are being carried out in the secured areas to ensure that they are safe for the return of the internally displaced persons (IDPs).”
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June - 23 
According to Daily Times, Qari Zainuddin, leader of the Abdullah Group, was shot dead by his guard, Gulbuddin Mehsud, Police official Salahuddin told reporters. “We confirm that Qari Zainuddin is dead,” he said. No group has thus far claimed responsibility for the attack. “We were asleep after morni
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According to Daily Times, Qari Zainuddin, leader of the Abdullah Group, was shot dead by his guard, Gulbuddin Mehsud, Police official Salahuddin told reporters. “We confirm that Qari Zainuddin is dead,” he said. No group has thus far claimed responsibility for the attack. “We were asleep after morning prayers when Gulbuddin opened fire, killing Zainuddin on the spot,” Kamal Mehsud, one of Zainuddin’s guards, said. The assailant escaped in the ensuing confusion, he added. Officials gave no motive for the killing, but Zainuddin’s aide Baz Muhammad, who witnessed the attack, told AFP the gunman was “an agent of Baitullah Mehsud”, acting on the orders of the Al Qaeda-linked warlord. “It was definitely Baitullah’s man who infiltrated our ranks, and he has done his job,” he told the Associated Press, vowing to avenge the death. He also filed a criminal complaint with local police, alleging the shooting was carried out at Mehsud’s behest. Sources told Daily Times that Misbahuddin Mehsud, Zainuddin’s younger brother, had been nominated as the new chief of the Abdullah Group. However, the group made no formal announcement in this regard.
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June - 27 
The Federal Interior Minister Rehman Malik said on June 27 that the family of Mullah Fazlullah had been detained and they were being treated in a respectable manner and not being manhandled, Dawn reported.
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The Federal Interior Minister Rehman Malik said on June 27 that the family of Mullah Fazlullah had been detained and they were being treated in a respectable manner and not being manhandled, Dawn reported.
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July - 1 
Claiming that the militants’ network in Malakand Division had been dismantled, the NWFP Minister for Information Mian Iftikhar Hussain said in provincial capital Peshawar on July 1 that reports about injuries suffered by the Swat Taliban leader Maulana Fazlullah were yet to be confirmed, according t
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Claiming that the militants’ network in Malakand Division had been dismantled, the NWFP Minister for Information Mian Iftikhar Hussain said in provincial capital Peshawar on July 1 that reports about injuries suffered by the Swat Taliban leader Maulana Fazlullah were yet to be confirmed, according to The News. “The militants have either gone into hiding or run away from their strongholds in Swat, Buner and Dir Lower where security forces have expedited their offensive against them,” he said while briefing the media. The minister also said the Government had information about the serious injuries sustained by Maulana Fazlullah and his spokesman a week ago but there was no solid evidence of his whereabouts and health condition. “Interior Minister Rehman Malik may have confirmed the report when he made a claim about serious injuries suffered by Fazlullah,” Mian Iftikhar said. He said the military operation would continue till the elimination of the militants’ leadership in Malakand and would be hunted wherever they go.
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July - 5 
Army spokesman Major General Athar Abbas told AFP that the military had killed a commander loyal to the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) Swat unit chief Maulana Fazlullah on the outskirts of Mingora. “Ehsan alias Abu Jandal, was killed two days earlier in Qambar area. He was a mid-level commander,” A
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Army spokesman Major General Athar Abbas told AFP that the military had killed a commander loyal to the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) Swat unit chief Maulana Fazlullah on the outskirts of Mingora. “Ehsan alias Abu Jandal, was killed two days earlier in Qambar area. He was a mid-level commander,” Athar said.
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July - 6 
NWFP Chief Minister Ameer Haidar Khan Hoti who visited the Swat Valley on July 6 said the militants would not be allowed to regroup in the area and they would be defeated. The Chief Minister, who also visited Buner District, announced doubling the strength of Police force in Swat and Buner. He said
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NWFP Chief Minister Ameer Haidar Khan Hoti who visited the Swat Valley on July 6 said the militants would not be allowed to regroup in the area and they would be defeated. The Chief Minister, who also visited Buner District, announced doubling the strength of Police force in Swat and Buner. He said the number of Police stations would also be increased
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July - 8 
Military spokesman confirmed that Swat Taliban unit chief Maulana Fazlullah was seriously injured and another militant leader, Abu Jandal, had been killed, Dawn reported. He said Taliban leader Shah Dauran was also reported to have been killed. Replying to a question, Abbas said most of the terroris
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Military spokesman confirmed that Swat Taliban unit chief Maulana Fazlullah was seriously injured and another militant leader, Abu Jandal, had been killed, Dawn reported. He said Taliban leader Shah Dauran was also reported to have been killed. Replying to a question, Abbas said most of the terrorist commanders and leaders were in the Swat valley and only a few of them had moved out. However, there was no possibility of the militants regrouping and operating in the valley, he added.
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July - 8 
The military operation in Swat and adjoining Districts is “complete” and various areas of Malakand Division have been taken back from the Taliban, but the army will stay on in the valley to conduct search-and-destroy operations wherever required, said the NWFP Information Minister Qamar Zaman Kaira
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The military operation in Swat and adjoining Districts is “complete” and various areas of Malakand Division have been taken back from the Taliban, but the army will stay on in the valley to conduct search-and-destroy operations wherever required, said the NWFP Information Minister Qamar Zaman Kaira and Army spokesman Major General Athar Abbas on July 8, Daily Times reported. Addressing a joint press conference in Islamabad, Kaira said, “The Swat operation has been successfully completed, and the government will announce a schedule for the phased return of IDPs [Internally Displaced Persons] within the next two days.” Abbas said Army chief General Ashfaq Kayani had presided over a high-level meeting at the General Headquarters to discuss a host of issues related to the operation. The army said the Taliban’s command-and-control structures, logistics and training infrastructure had been either destroyed or disrupted. They also said that a large number of Taliban leaders had been killed or arrested. The meeting did not rule out isolated incidents of terrorism in the area. “The army will, therefore, stay in Swat,” it said.
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July - 15 
The troops have reportedly pushed back the Taliban militants in the 75-day old military operation and there has been no active fighting for the last two weeks. The latest killings of the militants took place at a time when the people displaced from the Swat valley have been returning to their homes
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The troops have reportedly pushed back the Taliban militants in the 75-day old military operation and there has been no active fighting for the last two weeks. The latest killings of the militants took place at a time when the people displaced from the Swat valley have been returning to their homes since the last three days. However, Sajid Mohmand, the Police chief in Swat, said that “The situation in Swat has not improved to the extent of preventing violent incidents in the valley in the near future.” “There are reports that some militants are still hiding in the mountains and these are the elements which may deteriorate the situation in Swat,” he said, according to Dawn.
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July - 20 
NWFP Information Minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain said on July 20 that the Taliban in Maidan were still active. He told media persons after a cabinet meeting that the provincial Government has decided to fix a bounty of PKR 500000 each on the heads of five top Taliban leaders of Maidan. They included
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NWFP Information Minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain said on July 20 that the Taliban in Maidan were still active. He told media persons after a cabinet meeting that the provincial Government has decided to fix a bounty of PKR 500000 each on the heads of five top Taliban leaders of Maidan. They included ‘commander’ Hafizullah, Qari Shahid, Dr Wazir, Muftahuddin and Abdus Salam.
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July - 21 
Interior Minister Rehman Malik said on July 21 that around 500 hardcore militants had been arrested so far from Swat, 90 per cent of whom were Afghan nationals, The News reported. Talking to a private television channel, he said Swat had almost been cleared of the militants and the same approach wou
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Interior Minister Rehman Malik said on July 21 that around 500 hardcore militants had been arrested so far from Swat, 90 per cent of whom were Afghan nationals, The News reported. Talking to a private television channel, he said Swat had almost been cleared of the militants and the same approach would be adopted to pursue them in North and South Waziristan. The armed forces will stay in the militancy-affected areas until complete restoration of political and social infrastructure, he said, adding that efforts would be made to achieve these goals in minimum possible time. To a question, he said a sizable amount of foreign-made heavy and sophisticated ammunition had also been captured in the militancy-hit areas, which can be traded between the states only.
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July - 24 
The NWFP Higher Education Minister Qazi Asad said schools in the Swat Valley would reopen from August 1.
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The NWFP Higher Education Minister Qazi Asad said schools in the Swat Valley would reopen from August 1.
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July - 24 
The Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) on July 24 denied claims that Maulana Fazlullah, the Swat unit chief of the TTP, was wounded, and threatened to unleash a renewed “holy war”, Daily Times reported. Pakistan said on July 8 it had “credible” information that Fazlullah was hurt during a military oper
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The Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) on July 24 denied claims that Maulana Fazlullah, the Swat unit chief of the TTP, was wounded, and threatened to unleash a renewed “holy war”, Daily Times reported. Pakistan said on July 8 it had “credible” information that Fazlullah was hurt during a military operation in Swat. “Taliban chief Fazlullah is alive, healthy and has never been wounded,” TTP spokesman Muslim Khan told AFP over the telephone from an undisclosed location. “All of the Taliban leadership in Swat are alive and are in hiding with a strategy. We will continue our jihad until the enforcement of Sharia [Islamic law],” he said. “Army artillery and tanks cannot prevent us from achieving our objective,” he added.
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July - 26 
Police on July 26 arrested the Tehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi (TNSM) chief Maulana Sufi Muhammad and three other people from his rented house in the Sethi Town area of Peshawar, capital of the NWFP, Daily Times reported. The TNSM chief - who resurfaced on July 25 around two months after Opera
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Police on July 26 arrested the Tehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi (TNSM) chief Maulana Sufi Muhammad and three other people from his rented house in the Sethi Town area of Peshawar, capital of the NWFP, Daily Times reported. The TNSM chief - who resurfaced on July 25 around two months after Operation Rah-e-Rast was launched against the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan - has been accused of helping the Taliban and sabotaging the Government’s fight against them. Witnesses told Daily Times that around 12 Policemen raided Sufi Muhammad’s house at around 2pm, and arrested the TNSM chief and three others – identified as Rizwanullah, Ziaullah and Tahir. Two of them are said to be Sufi Muhammad’s sons. Addressing a press conference, the NWFP Information Minister Main Iftikhar Hussain confirmed the TNSM chief’s arrest. He said Sufi Muhammad resurfaced “a day ago” and announced a meeting of the TNSM executive council in Malakand – an attempt that could have jeopardised peace efforts in the region. The minister said the arrests had been made to maintain law and order. He said the TNSM’s actions in the past may also be investigated.
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July - 27 
The NWFP Senior Minister Bashir Ahmed Bilour on July 27 said that 200 children of ages 6 to 13 years had been recovered from Malakand who were completely brainwashed for conducting suicide attacks, The News reported. Talking to a private television channel, he said the Government would try to educat
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The NWFP Senior Minister Bashir Ahmed Bilour on July 27 said that 200 children of ages 6 to 13 years had been recovered from Malakand who were completely brainwashed for conducting suicide attacks, The News reported. Talking to a private television channel, he said the Government would try to educate these children in such a way that they could live in a civilized manner. Around 20 children of the same mindset were earlier discovered from training camps of terrorists and were later trained and educated in the army institutions, he said. He said that such children were emotionally trained by terrorists in different ways. They firmly believed that after committing a suicide attack they would directly enter into paradise, the provincial minister said. These children are so influenced by their trainers that they even term their parents as non believers and would not hesitate to kill them, he said. He also said that these children were presently in the custody of army.
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July - 30 
It is still unclear if Pakistan’s offensive in Swat has killed off the Taliban or simply scattered them, US special envoy to Pakistan and Afghanistan Richard Holbrooke said on July 30, Daily Times reported. “We don’t know exactly to what extent the Pakistani army dispersed or destroyed the enemy,” t
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It is still unclear if Pakistan’s offensive in Swat has killed off the Taliban or simply scattered them, US special envoy to Pakistan and Afghanistan Richard Holbrooke said on July 30, Daily Times reported. “We don’t know exactly to what extent the Pakistani army dispersed or destroyed the enemy,” the Reuters news agency quoted him as saying. “The test of this operation is, of course, when the refugees return. Can they go home? Are they safe? And we’re just going to have to wait and see,” he told a State Department press conference. He said that Karl Eikenberry, the US Ambassador in Kabul, and his military counterpart, General Stanley McChrystal, have consulted “fairly regularly” with Pakistani officials. They want to keep in touch with Pakistan’s Government and army so “this time around, as the [NATO] offensive picks up steam, the Pakistanis are ready for it, so the Pakistanis know where the military operations are happening - and they can prepare for any spillover effects,” he added. Likewise, the US officials wanted to be fully apprised of Pakistani army offensives, he said.
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August - 10 
The Army will stay in Swat until the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) have been rehabilitated and reconstruction completed, Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani said on August 10, Daily Times reported. “I am confident your presence in the area will not only discourage anti-state elements from regrou
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The Army will stay in Swat until the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) have been rehabilitated and reconstruction completed, Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani said on August 10, Daily Times reported. “I am confident your presence in the area will not only discourage anti-state elements from regrouping, but also improve the pace of development in the area,” he told a gathering of soldiers during a visit to Malakand. Prior to his address, the Prime Minister was informed that the Army now controlled 90 percent of the Malakand Division. Addressing a gathering of tribal elders separately, Gilani said the Taliban were on the run and would soon be eliminated. He said extremists would never be allowed to impose their will through violence again. “Nobody will be allowed to stop our children going to school or impose a system through violence in the name of Islam and at gunpoint,” AFP quoted him as saying. He also said the Government would introduce a special package for Swat, incorporating new development, reconstruction and rehabilitation of the IDPs.
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August - 11 
The Government told the National Assembly on August 11 that it had asked provinces to keep a watch on the banned Sunni militant outfit Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan (SSP), which is accused of fomenting recent violence in the Punjab province’s Jhang and Gojra towns, Dawn reported. Interior Minister Rehman
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The Government told the National Assembly on August 11 that it had asked provinces to keep a watch on the banned Sunni militant outfit Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan (SSP), which is accused of fomenting recent violence in the Punjab province’s Jhang and Gojra towns, Dawn reported. Interior Minister Rehman Malik acknowledged there was a lot of truth in concern voiced by an opposition lawmaker from Jhang who said the Government must act against the SSP to avoid the kind of situation it had to face in Swat valley of the North West Frontier Province after Taliban militants were allowed to thrive there. Malik reportedly said it was a fact that the SSP had had been involved in terrorist activities in the past and added “The provincial governments have been asked to keep a watch on its activities.”
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August - 27 
More than 80 percent of the 2.2 million internally displaced persons (IDPs) from Swat and Malakand in the NWFP have now returned home, Lieutenant General Nadeem Ahmed, chairman of the Special Support Group for the displaced, said on August 27, reports Daily Times. “There are those who are saying to
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More than 80 percent of the 2.2 million internally displaced persons (IDPs) from Swat and Malakand in the NWFP have now returned home, Lieutenant General Nadeem Ahmed, chairman of the Special Support Group for the displaced, said on August 27, reports Daily Times. “There are those who are saying to us ‘We will take you to the tunnels, we will take you to the caches, we will take you to the places where they have been storing ammunition and explosives and suicide jackets’,” the relief official said. He also said, “Insurgencies don’t go away in months, they go away in decades. We have seen this in our own neighbourhood – in Sri Lanka, India and Afghanistan – but this is the first time that we are talking about dealing with it so effectively in months.”
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August - 30 
At least 16 Police recruits were killed and 11 others sustained injuries on August 30 after a suicide bomber detonated explosives strapped to his body at the Mingora Police Station, Daily Times reported. The volunteers for the new community Police force were conducting drills in the yard adjacent to
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At least 16 Police recruits were killed and 11 others sustained injuries on August 30 after a suicide bomber detonated explosives strapped to his body at the Mingora Police Station, Daily Times reported. The volunteers for the new community Police force were conducting drills in the yard adjacent to the station when the attacker detonated his explosives, local Government administrator Atifur Rehman told The Associated Press. Authorities were investigating reports the attacker - possibly in uniform - might have hidden among the dozens of recruits, he said. “Initial investigations suggest the attacker climbed the small boundary wall and blew himself up, but there is also a report the suicide bomber was already inside,” he said. However, local Police chief Idrees Khan denied reports that the bomber was wearing a uniform and might have been one of the volunteers. Khan also blamed the attack on a decision to relax a daily curfew in the area for Ramzan.
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August - 30 
The NWFP Information Minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain told journalists that “After the massive operation in Swat such incidents are expected.” It is very difficult to avoid such attacks, he added. The minister also acknowledged the Taliban had not been completely removed from the region, adding the mi
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The NWFP Information Minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain told journalists that “After the massive operation in Swat such incidents are expected.” It is very difficult to avoid such attacks, he added. The minister also acknowledged the Taliban had not been completely removed from the region, adding the military operation would continue until every single armed Taliban militant in Malakand Division was killed.
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August - 31 
At least 36 bodies, believed to be of militants, were found dumped in various locations of the Swat valley on August 31, The News reported. Official sources said 30 bullet-riddled bodies were found dumped in the Manglawar and Banjot areas while the body of another militant, identified as Bacha Rahma
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At least 36 bodies, believed to be of militants, were found dumped in various locations of the Swat valley on August 31, The News reported. Official sources said 30 bullet-riddled bodies were found dumped in the Manglawar and Banjot areas while the body of another militant, identified as Bacha Rahman, was recovered from the Nawagai area in Barikot. Three bodies were found in the Kanju area while two were recovered from Akhund Killay. Bodies of the Taliban militants were dumped on roadsides after being killed in mysterious circumstances, the sources said. So far a total of 230 bodies have been found dumped on roads and riversides in the Swat District. In addition, the Army-run Swat Media Centre said two militants were killed in the Kabal area during an encounter and arms were recovered from their possession. According to the centre’s updates, several areas in Charbagh sub-division, including Banjot, Mangultan and Bashbanr, were cleared of militants. The media centre also said that in the last three days, 30 Taliban militants had been killed during various operations against the militants. In the exchange of fire, one soldier was also killed, the media centre added.
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September - 11 
Two of the highest-ranking Taliban leaders, Muslim Khan and Mehmood Khan, were arrested in a military operation, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) spokesman Major General Athar Abbas said on September 11. “We have captured them,” he told through telephone from Islamabad. They were arrested alon
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Two of the highest-ranking Taliban leaders, Muslim Khan and Mehmood Khan, were arrested in a military operation, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) spokesman Major General Athar Abbas said on September 11. “We have captured them,” he told through telephone from Islamabad. They were arrested along with three other Taliban commanders, he added. Both Muslim Khan and Mehmood Khan carried head money of PKR 10 million each, with Muslim Khan being second on the most-wanted list behind Fazlullah, and Mehmood at number four. The other three captured leaders were Fazle Ghaffar, Abdul Rehman and Sartaj, a military statement said. The report adds that the arrest confirmation followed a media report claiming the military had detained the Taliban leaders after “inviting” them to talks. “This is not correct ... we have not held talks with them,” Abbas said. “We have already declared that no talks will be held with any terrorist, if they want to surrender, they should lay down their arms and hand themselves to civil administration or law enforcement agencies,” he added. A source close to the Taliban at Mingora in Swat said the arrests could help the Army reach Fazlullah as both Muslim Khan and Mehmood Khan were among key Taliban leaders with “access and much more information available about Fazlullah”.
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September - 30 
Troops arrested at least four more Taliban militants and 12 others surrendered in Swat. “Twelve Taliban surrendered to security forces in Bar Shaur, Runial Chuprial and Mingora,” said the ISPR, adding that three Taliban militants were arrested from Fatehpur, Madyan and Gulibagh, and another from Min
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Troops arrested at least four more Taliban militants and 12 others surrendered in Swat. “Twelve Taliban surrendered to security forces in Bar Shaur, Runial Chuprial and Mingora,” said the ISPR, adding that three Taliban militants were arrested from Fatehpur, Madyan and Gulibagh, and another from Mingora.
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October - 4 
The army has killed nine more Taliban militants – including three key commanders –in the ongoing military operation in Swat, said officials on October 4, Daily Times reported. According to the Swat Media Centre, six militants – including three commanders identified as Kota Younas, Noor Amin and Fa
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The army has killed nine more Taliban militants – including three key commanders –in the ongoing military operation in Swat, said officials on October 4, Daily Times reported. According to the Swat Media Centre, six militants – including three commanders identified as Kota Younas, Noor Amin and Fazal Rabi – were killed in a clash with troops in Banjar village. The troops also killed three Taliban militants in the Bazdara area of Malakand. A Lashkar (militia) member was also killed in Bazdara.
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October - 4 
Military spokesman Major General Athar Abbas said an operation against the Baitullah Mehsud group had already started and its training centres had been pounded by aircraft and artillery. He said various roads leading to South Waziristan had been closed but no decision had been taken about a ground o
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Military spokesman Major General Athar Abbas said an operation against the Baitullah Mehsud group had already started and its training centres had been pounded by aircraft and artillery. He said various roads leading to South Waziristan had been closed but no decision had been taken about a ground operation. The spokesman said there would be no operation in Wana.
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October - 5 
The new chief of the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Hakeemullah Mehsud, thought by Pakistani and US officials to have been killed in infighting, appeared before a small group of journalists at an unspecified place in South Waziristan on October 5, vowing to avenge the killing of his predecessor Ba
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The new chief of the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Hakeemullah Mehsud, thought by Pakistani and US officials to have been killed in infighting, appeared before a small group of journalists at an unspecified place in South Waziristan on October 5, vowing to avenge the killing of his predecessor Baitullah Mehsud and expedite attacks on US and Pakistani forces, Dawn reported. The international media reported on October 3 that US intelligence agencies believed that Hakeemullah died in a fire-fight with a rival faction weeks ago. Hakeemullah was reportedly accompanied at the meeting with journalists by Fidayeen-i-Islam commander Qari Hussain Mehsud, Taliban’s South Waziristan chief Waliur Rehman Mehsud and TTP spokesman Azam Tariq. He alleged that both Pakistan and the US were involved in drone attacks which had killed a large number of innocent women and children. Hakeemullah said Pakistan had been created in the name of Islam, but its rulers were subservient to the American and Jewish lobbies. He said “This is why we are opposed to the army and Pakistani rulers. The Taliban are not against the people of Pakistan,” adding that the jihad would continue till the enforcement of Sharia (Islamic law) in the country. The TTP chief accused the government of having provided 1,000 of acres land for expansion of the US embassy and said that American agencies had hired over 200 houses in Islamabad to promote their agenda. He also said that agents of the Blackwater security agency were patrolling the streets of Islamabad and Peshawar. In reply to a question, Hakeemullah said the TTP had links with Al Qaeda and other jihadi forces throughout the world. The Shura Ittehadul Mujahideen was fully intact and he had held a meeting with its leaders only three days ago, he added. He ruled out differences among Taliban groups and said that claims of clashes among them were false. “You (journalists) can see it for yourselves that I (Hakeemullah), Waliur Rehman and Qari Hussain are alive and safe and sound. The news of clashes among us and our fight for succession are false and fabricated to mislead the Taliban,” he said. Hakeemullah also said that the Afghan and Pakistani Taliban were one and there were no differences between them. According to him, “The Afghan Taliban are fighting the allied forces under the leadership of Mullah Omar and we are his followers.” He accused the government of violating several agreements it had reached with the Taliban and said: “If it (the government) accepts our demands, we are ready to hold talks.”
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October - 8 
The former Malakand Commissioner, Syed Muhammad Javed, detained since May 2009 for allegedly facilitating Swat Taliban chief Fazlullah, was released on October 8, said the NWFP Information Minister Iftikhar Hussain. The former commissioner was arrested after three arrested army commandos were behead
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The former Malakand Commissioner, Syed Muhammad Javed, detained since May 2009 for allegedly facilitating Swat Taliban chief Fazlullah, was released on October 8, said the NWFP Information Minister Iftikhar Hussain. The former commissioner was arrested after three arrested army commandos were beheaded by the Taliban. Iftikhar said the Grade 20 civil bureaucrat had been freed, but a departmental inquiry was still pending against him. The former commissioner’s release follows a petition filed by his brother, Syed Muhammad Hamid, with the Peshawar High Court.
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October - 9 
49 persons, including a woman and seven children, were killed and 90 others were injured when a suicide attacker detonated his explosives-laden car at the crowded Soekarno Chowk in Khyber Bazaar in Peshawar, capital of NWFP, on October 9, The News reported. A Police official said that people were bu
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49 persons, including a woman and seven children, were killed and 90 others were injured when a suicide attacker detonated his explosives-laden car at the crowded Soekarno Chowk in Khyber Bazaar in Peshawar, capital of NWFP, on October 9, The News reported. A Police official said that people were busy in routine activities when a suicide bomber detonated the explosives laden in his car. Many of those killed and injured were passengers of a mini-bus that was passing through the area at the time of the blast. Seven children, many of them schoolboys, and a woman, were among those killed. The blast destroyed around 30 vehicles and partially damaged over 60 shops in the nearby markets. Windowpanes of hundreds of shops and offices were also reportedly destroyed. Among those killed or injured were patients and their attendants going or coming out of the nearby Lady Reading Hospital, the biggest public sector hospital in the NWFP. An official of the bomb disposal unit (BDU) estimated that around 50 kg of high-intensity explosives had been loaded in the car, being driven by the suicide bomber, while another official said the explosives were around 100 kg. “As the explosives were loaded in the doors and side cavities, it caused more damage to the nearby buildings rather than creating a huge crater in the ground,” a BDU official said. There were reports that the bomber attempted to reach the NWFP Assembly building through Sher Shah Suri Road but was not allowed by the Policemen near the Peshawar Central Prison. The Inspector General of Police (IGP) Malik Naveed termed the attack a reaction to the ongoing military operations in Swat and parts of the FATA. The Deputy Medical Superintendent at Lady Reading Hospital, Sahib Gul, said the blast killed 50 people and wounded 120 others, 22 of them critically. Dr Gul said the death toll could increase, adding that most of the dead were beyond recognition. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the bombing.
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October - 9 
The SFs on October 9 said they killed at least six terrorists in Swat, Daily Times reported. “Security forces conducted search operation at Banjot and Kasona near Malamjaba and killed six terrorists,” the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said.
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The SFs on October 9 said they killed at least six terrorists in Swat, Daily Times reported. “Security forces conducted search operation at Banjot and Kasona near Malamjaba and killed six terrorists,” the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said.
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October - 12 
At least 41 persons - including six soldiers - were killed and 45 others were injured on October 12 in a suicide attack on a military convoy in the Alpuri area of Shangla District (which borders Swat District), NWFP Information Minister Iftikhar Hussain and a military official said, Daily Times repo
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At least 41 persons - including six soldiers - were killed and 45 others were injured on October 12 in a suicide attack on a military convoy in the Alpuri area of Shangla District (which borders Swat District), NWFP Information Minister Iftikhar Hussain and a military official said, Daily Times reported. The bomber – believed to be 14 years old and on foot – targeted the convoy while it was passing through the busy Alpuri bazaar. The AP news agency, however, reported that the bomber detonated a car packed with explosives near the convoy. A military spokesman said that 12 shops and seven vehicles were destroyed when the young bomber detonated explosives. “Some vehicles loaded with ammunition were also part of the convoy... they caught fire after the explosion,” said the spokesman.
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October - 13 
In the Swat District, Security Forces said on October 13 that they had killed five more Taliban militants and arrested five others. In addition, at least 33 more Taliban militants are reported to have surrendered to the SFs.
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In the Swat District, Security Forces said on October 13 that they had killed five more Taliban militants and arrested five others. In addition, at least 33 more Taliban militants are reported to have surrendered to the SFs.
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October - 15 
The Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG, Kohat region), Abdullah Khan, told reporters that a 22-year-old suicide bomber blew up his explosives-laden double cabin vehicle just outside the main gate of Saddar Police Station, killing 11 people, including three Policemen Fayazul Hasnain, Muhammad No
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The Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG, Kohat region), Abdullah Khan, told reporters that a 22-year-old suicide bomber blew up his explosives-laden double cabin vehicle just outside the main gate of Saddar Police Station, killing 11 people, including three Policemen Fayazul Hasnain, Muhammad Noor and Khurshid, and injuring 22 persons, including four Policemen. Among those wounded were two women and some schoolchildren passing by the spot. The blast destroyed the northern part of the Police Station building, eight vehicles, including a Police van, and the wall of the Pakistan Air Force’s Officers Mess, said the DIG, adding 100 kilograms of explosive material was used in the bombing. The Police Station is adjacent to the official residence of the District Police Officer and is situated about 30 metres from the main Army checkpoint leading to the Kohat garrison. Office of the District Coordination Officer and several other high ranking Government officers, a private college and the Virtual University are located in the area.
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October - 16 
At least 15 persons, including three policemen, were killed and 19 others sustained injuries after a suicide bomber rammed his explosives-laden vehicle into the Criminal Investigation Agency’s (CIA) Special Investigation Unit in Peshawar, the capital city of North-West Frontier Province (NWFP) on Oc
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At least 15 persons, including three policemen, were killed and 19 others sustained injuries after a suicide bomber rammed his explosives-laden vehicle into the Criminal Investigation Agency’s (CIA) Special Investigation Unit in Peshawar, the capital city of North-West Frontier Province (NWFP) on October 16; the ninth major terror attack in the country in less than two weeks, according to Daily Times. NWFP Information Minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain told that 11 people had been killed and 15 injured in the car bombing. He said seven of the injured were in critical condition. Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) (Coordination) Muhammad Alam Shinwari, however, told Daily Times that 15 people, including three Policemen, two children and two women, had been killed in the attack. Bomb Disposal Squad (BDS) Chief Shafqat Malik told that 60-70 kilogrammes of explosives had been used in the attack, adding that Police had recovered a leg of the attacker. Peshawar Police Chief Liaquat Ali Khan had earlier told that a man and a woman had carried out the blast. He said the man had been travelling in the car, while the woman had been riding a motorcycle. However, the SSP (coordination) told Daily Times that a woman had not been involved, adding that she was a teacher at the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) School and had been killed along with her father, Manzoor Hussain, and her 10-year-old sister.
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October - 17 
The Government imposed a curfew in the region, shutting down all link roads to and from Waziristan and jamming the mobile and telecommunication systems in Dera Ismail Khan, Tank, Lakki Marwat and Bannu Districts. Official sources said the military was converging on Taliban strongholds from three dir
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The Government imposed a curfew in the region, shutting down all link roads to and from Waziristan and jamming the mobile and telecommunication systems in Dera Ismail Khan, Tank, Lakki Marwat and Bannu Districts. Official sources said the military was converging on Taliban strongholds from three directions — Jandola in the east, Shakai in the west and Razmak in the north. They said initial reports had revealed the Taliban were putting up a “stiff resistance” to the army’s advances. The local population of the conflict-stricken areas has moved to safer places, with the UN predicting around 250,000 people fled their homes in anticipation of the operation. Authorities have set up registration camps for these internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Tank and Dera Ismail Khan. Sources in the FATA Secretariat said 12,800 families had already been registered in Dera Ismail Khan and Tank, adding, preparations were underway to accommodate more in the relief camps.
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October - 19 
A report from Dera Ismail Khan has stated that the Pakistan Army has struck deals to keep two powerful tribal chiefs — Mulla Nazir and Hafiz Gul Bahadur — from joining the battle against the Government, officials told The Associated Press on October 19, The News reported. Under the terms agreed to a
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A report from Dera Ismail Khan has stated that the Pakistan Army has struck deals to keep two powerful tribal chiefs — Mulla Nazir and Hafiz Gul Bahadur — from joining the battle against the Government, officials told The Associated Press on October 19, The News reported. Under the terms agreed to about three weeks ago, Mulla Nazir and Hafiz Gul Bahadur will stay out of the current fight in parts of South Waziristan. They will also allow the army to move through their own lands unimpeded, giving the military additional fronts from which to attack the Taliban. In exchange, the army will ease patrols and bombings in the lands controlled by the two warlords, two Pakistani intelligence officials based in the region told AP.
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October - 19 
Following the closure of public-sector and military educational institutions in the province, the Private Education Institution Management Association NWFP, has also decided to close all private educational institutions in the provincial capital Peshawar for three days to avoid Taliban attacks on sc
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Following the closure of public-sector and military educational institutions in the province, the Private Education Institution Management Association NWFP, has also decided to close all private educational institutions in the provincial capital Peshawar for three days to avoid Taliban attacks on schools and colleges. Association president Khawaja Yawar Naseer told Daily Times parents had demanded that schools and colleges be closed for three days – from October 20 to 22. He said the association had not received any direct threats from the Taliban or any directives from the NWFP Government to close the schools, but it took the step as a precautionary measure.
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October - 21 
In Charsadda in the NWFP, Police arrested six suspected extremists on October 21. All those arrested men are said to be residents of the Swat and Shangla Districts. In Dir and Bajaur Agency, Frontier Corps troops arrested at least 22 suspected terrorists, according to a statement by the paramilitary
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In Charsadda in the NWFP, Police arrested six suspected extremists on October 21. All those arrested men are said to be residents of the Swat and Shangla Districts. In Dir and Bajaur Agency, Frontier Corps troops arrested at least 22 suspected terrorists, according to a statement by the paramilitary force, reported APP.
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October - 22 
Displaced people from South Waziristan continued arriving in Dera Ismail Khan and Tank. Many reaching the two cities were handed over tents and some food but the displaced people reportedly complained about lack of help by the Government. According to the ISPR, 7,184 families have been registered in
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Displaced people from South Waziristan continued arriving in Dera Ismail Khan and Tank. Many reaching the two cities were handed over tents and some food but the displaced people reportedly complained about lack of help by the Government. According to the ISPR, 7,184 families have been registered in Tank and Dera Ismail Khan since October 13. Five registration points have been established in the city of Dera Ismail Khan. The Government is, however, yet to establish a camp for the displaced people.
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October - 22 
Security Forces (SFs) on October 22 claimed to have killed an important Taliban ‘commander’ in the Banpur Sar area while three bodies, believed to be of militants, were found dumped in Barikot in Swat valley, The News reported. Villagers said unknown persons had killed three suspected militants and
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Security Forces (SFs) on October 22 claimed to have killed an important Taliban ‘commander’ in the Banpur Sar area while three bodies, believed to be of militants, were found dumped in Barikot in Swat valley, The News reported. Villagers said unknown persons had killed three suspected militants and dumped their bodies in the Ghazi Kandao area of Barikot. Two slain men were identified as Abdul Hameed and Bakht Zada while the identity of the third one could not be ascertained. In addition, a press release of the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) claimed that the SFs killed an important Taliban ‘commander’, identified as Iqbal alias Islam, during a search and clearance operation in Banpur Sar. It also said a large quantity of grenades, ammunition and equipment were recovered.
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October - 22 
The SFs, according to the ISPR, arrested nine suspects from the seminary known as Madrassa Mazhar-ul-Uloom in Mingora’s Green Chowk and from Manglawar, Kokarai, Dahro, Rangeela and Godhand during their search and clearance operations. The Mingora Police have also reportedly launched a campaign again
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The SFs, according to the ISPR, arrested nine suspects from the seminary known as Madrassa Mazhar-ul-Uloom in Mingora’s Green Chowk and from Manglawar, Kokarai, Dahro, Rangeela and Godhand during their search and clearance operations. The Mingora Police have also reportedly launched a campaign against Afghan prayer leaders. The Police arrested 12 such clerics and charged them under 14 Foreign Act.
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October - 25 
Many displaced people arriving in Dera Ismail Khan and Tank Districts of the NWFP said that the militants had left the villages recently captured by Security Forces days before the launch of the military operation, The News reported. "They have gone into the mountains or shifted to the neighbouring
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Many displaced people arriving in Dera Ismail Khan and Tank Districts of the NWFP said that the militants had left the villages recently captured by Security Forces days before the launch of the military operation, The News reported. "They have gone into the mountains or shifted to the neighbouring Orakzai Agency while some moved to the adjoining parts of Balochistan," said a tribesman.
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October - 25 
Security Forces launched a large-scale operation in the Charbagh and Khawazakhela sub-divisions of Swat District on October 25, arresting 11 Taliban militants – including a would-be suicide bomber, said officials, Daily Times reported. At least seven houses owned by Taliban were also demolished, sai
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Security Forces launched a large-scale operation in the Charbagh and Khawazakhela sub-divisions of Swat District on October 25, arresting 11 Taliban militants – including a would-be suicide bomber, said officials, Daily Times reported. At least seven houses owned by Taliban were also demolished, said an Inter-Services Public Relations statement.
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October - 26 
According to The News, eight bodies of suspected militants were recovered in the Swat District on October 26. Four bodies were reportedly found dumped in the Khwazakhela area, official sources said.
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According to The News, eight bodies of suspected militants were recovered in the Swat District on October 26. Four bodies were reportedly found dumped in the Khwazakhela area, official sources said.
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October - 26 
Security Forces (SFs) arrested 13 militants, including a close aide of the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) Swat unit chief Maulana Fazlullah. A press release of the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said 12 militants, including seven Afghan nationals, were arrested during search operations in K
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Security Forces (SFs) arrested 13 militants, including a close aide of the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) Swat unit chief Maulana Fazlullah. A press release of the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said 12 militants, including seven Afghan nationals, were arrested during search operations in Kalam, Bahrain, Naway Killay and Manglawar. It added that three militants, identified as Habib Noor, Barkat and Abdul Khaliq, surrendered to the SFs in Kabal sub-division and another in Matta. In another incident, the troops arrested a close aide of Fazlullah, identified as Ali Shah Khan, during a raid in Charbagh. The sources said 960 grams of gold and some important documents were recovered from his possession. They said Ali Shah Khan was in-charge of the militants’ finances in Swat. There were reports that Maulana Fazlullah used to stay at his residence whenever he visited Charbagh.
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October - 27 
The NWFP Inspector General of Police, Malik Naveed, told reporters that the mastermind behind the Hayatabad and Sukarno Chowk bombings had been arrested.
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The NWFP Inspector General of Police, Malik Naveed, told reporters that the mastermind behind the Hayatabad and Sukarno Chowk bombings had been arrested.
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October - 28 
A remote-controlled car bomb killed at least 105 people – including women and children – and injured around 200 others at the Meena Bazaar in Peshawar, capital of the NWFP, on October 28, Daily Times reported. "We have received 92 bodies and some parts of bodies and 200 injured people – including 70
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A remote-controlled car bomb killed at least 105 people – including women and children – and injured around 200 others at the Meena Bazaar in Peshawar, capital of the NWFP, on October 28, Daily Times reported. "We have received 92 bodies and some parts of bodies and 200 injured people – including 70 women and children," said Haider Afridi, chief executive of the Lady Reading Hospital. He said around 25 people – mostly women – were in critical condition, while only 25 bodies had so far been identified. "Nineteen of the dead are women and 11 are children. All the dead are civilians," Dr Zafar Iqbal told the AFP news agency. The NWFP Information Minister Iftikhar Hussain, however, said, "More than 80 people were killed ... around 200, mostly women and children, were injured in the car bomb blast." Bomb disposal squad chief Shafqat Malik told reporters that 150 kilograms of explosives were used in the remote-controlled blast. He said that some people were still trapped under the rubble. According to the AFP, the explosion brought down buildings. A three-storey building and a mosque, Masjid Umme Habiba, situated in the narrow bazaar, caved in while six other structures were engulfed by a huge fire caused by the explosion, The News reported. Around 12 houses and over 60 shops were gutted while almost 300 other shops and houses were severely damaged due to the powerful explosion at around 12:40 pm. The Meena Bazaar is famous for women’s dresses, cosmetics and children’s garments. Minister Iftikhar Hussain told journalists that the blast was linked with the ongoing military operation in South Waziristan against the Taliban, saying, "foreign terrorists – including Arabs, Chechens and Uzbeks – stationed in Waziristan are carrying out attacks in Pashtun areas". However, no group has claimed responsibility for the bombing so far, according to Daily Times. The Capital City Police Officer Liaqat Ali told reporters that terrorists were "confused" because of the security in the city, and were – therefore – targeting public places. He said, "There was information that an explosives-laden car had entered the city." Meanwhile, the Taliban and Al Qaeda have denied involvement in the bomb blast and claimed they do not explode bombs in bazaars and mosques, The News reported. According to an Al Qaeda statement, they are not involved in the killing of innocent people. Al Qaeda sources said elements who want to defame Jihad and refugees are behind the Peshawar bomb blast. The banned Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan in an email sent to the media also condemned the blast and denied its involvement in the incident.
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October - 28 
The Inspector General of the NWFP Police has said that the Police have arrested the mastermind of the group involved in the Hayatabad and Soekarno Chowk bomb blasts, The News reported. Talking to reporters, he said 16,500 new police officials would be recruited for maintaining law and order in the p
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The Inspector General of the NWFP Police has said that the Police have arrested the mastermind of the group involved in the Hayatabad and Soekarno Chowk bomb blasts, The News reported. Talking to reporters, he said 16,500 new police officials would be recruited for maintaining law and order in the province. He added that red alert security was in place in the province and hundreds of terrorists and their commanders have been arrested. He said the Police also recovered a huge cache of arms and explosives. A group was involved in bomb blasts in Hayatabad and Soekarno Chowk and its leader has been arrested and is being interrogated, Malik Naveed added.
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October - 29 
The death toll in the car bombing at Meena Bazaar in Peshawar, capital of the NWFP, on October 28 rose to 117 on October 29-evening and rescue workers believed that some bodies were still in the debris of the collapsed buildings. A spokesman for the Edhi Foundation told Dawn that he himself had coun
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The death toll in the car bombing at Meena Bazaar in Peshawar, capital of the NWFP, on October 28 rose to 117 on October 29-evening and rescue workers believed that some bodies were still in the debris of the collapsed buildings. A spokesman for the Edhi Foundation told Dawn that he himself had counted 117 bodies. He said that 14 madrassa (seminary) students were still trapped in a mosque destroyed by the blast and only one of the bodies had been retrieved so far. However, the Senior Superintendent of Police (coordination), Mohammad Alam Shinwari, said that 105 bodies had been counted and now parts of the bodies were being recovered. Some parts of the vehicle used in the blast had been found, he added.
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October - 31 
33 Taliban militants were killed in the decisive battle for control of the Mehsud mainland in the Sararogha area on October 31, an Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) statement said, according to Daily Times. Four army personnel were injured in the attack. "Security forces have entered Sararogha,
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33 Taliban militants were killed in the decisive battle for control of the Mehsud mainland in the Sararogha area on October 31, an Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) statement said, according to Daily Times. Four army personnel were injured in the attack. "Security forces have entered Sararogha," the statement added. "The town has been surrounded from all three entry points. All the key positions and ridges around Sararogha have been taken over by security forces," it said. "During the process of moving forward, intense exchanges of fire took place. Thirteen terrorists have been killed. The military will begin its clearance operation of Sararogha in the next 24 hours. There is a substantial presence of terrorists in the town," ISPR Director General Major Gen Athar Abbas said. By being on the brink of controlling both Sararogha and Kaniguram – the two main Mehsud towns where Taliban militants held great sway – the military appears to be moving ahead of schedule. Also, advancing from the Shakai side, the military captured Karama village, a training centre of Uzbek militants. Separately, the military cleared Nawazkot of Taliban militants and moved onto the outskirts of Makeen.
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November - 10 
The Bajaur administration has set five-day deadline to the elders of Warh Mamond sub-division to hand over militants in their respective areas to the authorities. Addressing a jirga (council of elders), Assistant Political Agent Mohammad Jamial said the administration had handed over a list of wante
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The Bajaur administration has set five-day deadline to the elders of Warh Mamond sub-division to hand over militants in their respective areas to the authorities. Addressing a jirga (council of elders), Assistant Political Agent Mohammad Jamial said the administration had handed over a list of wanted militants to the elders a few weeks ago but they are yet to hand them over to the authorities. He said the elders of Mamond were not cooperating with the administration and the troops. He threatened to launch a military operation
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November - 11 
The operational commander of Swat, Major General Asfaque Nadeem, said on November 11 that 100 per cent area of Swat was under the control of SFs and all entry and exit points had been closed so that militants could not escape from the valley, The News reported. Talking to a group of senior journalis
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The operational commander of Swat, Major General Asfaque Nadeem, said on November 11 that 100 per cent area of Swat was under the control of SFs and all entry and exit points had been closed so that militants could not escape from the valley, The News reported. Talking to a group of senior journalists in Mingora, he said the SFs were conducting search operations in some areas of Swat District on information about the presence of unwanted elements. Gen Asfaque also said that work on development projects had already been started and the SFs were repairing and constructing mosques.
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November - 17 
The Taliban chief in Swat District, Maulana Fazlullah, on November 17 claimed that he had safely crossed over to Afghanistan, The News reported. BBC Urdu Service said Fazlullah telephoned its Peshawar reporter Abdul Hai Kakar to claim that he was in Afghanistan and that his fighters would soon start
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The Taliban chief in Swat District, Maulana Fazlullah, on November 17 claimed that he had safely crossed over to Afghanistan, The News reported. BBC Urdu Service said Fazlullah telephoned its Peshawar reporter Abdul Hai Kakar to claim that he was in Afghanistan and that his fighters would soon start guerrilla attacks against the Security Forces in Swat. The report said Fazlullah read a written statement while speaking from a mobile phone having an Afghanistan code. Fazlullah is reported to have threatened that the NWFP Information Minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain, who is in the forefront in condemning the Taliban, would meet the same fate as late Afghan President Dr Najibullah who was shot dead and then hanged, along with his younger brother Ahmadzai, in Kabul’s Aryana Square by the Afghan Taliban on September 27, 1996 on the day they captured the city.
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December - 14 
Weapons being used for terrorism in Pakistan come from Afghanistan, the North-West Frontier Province (NWFP) Governor Owais Ahmed Ghani said on December 14, according to Daily times. Addressing a conference on ‘Improving Governance: Towards Sustainable Growth, Peace and Equity’, he said, “Every bulle
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Weapons being used for terrorism in Pakistan come from Afghanistan, the North-West Frontier Province (NWFP) Governor Owais Ahmed Ghani said on December 14, according to Daily times. Addressing a conference on ‘Improving Governance: Towards Sustainable Growth, Peace and Equity’, he said, “Every bullet, gun, bomb, rocket and explosives being used in acts of terrorism in Pakistan comes from Afghanistan.” The NWFP Governor was chairing the session ‘Sustainable Governance Strategies to Counter Terrorism’ on the second day of the three-day conference. He said external factors were the main cause for the increasing terrorism across the country. “Religious seminaries and economic problems in the country existed before the advent of terrorism in the country; therefore, these things cannot be attributed as the reason behind the menace. Terrorism has actually been triggered by external factors, primarily anarchy and unrest in Afghanistan,” he said. “The question that needs answering is that who is providing the resources to the insurgents,” Ghani said, adding that around Rs 40 billion had been spent by terrorists in the NWFP and Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) in the last 10 years.
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December - 30 
The year 2009 proved to be another bloody year of the decade for media in Pakistan in which 10 journalists, in 163 cases of direct attacks on media, paid the ultimate price of practicing a difficult trade in the backdrop of rising terrorism and militancy and were killed in the line of duty, accordin
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The year 2009 proved to be another bloody year of the decade for media in Pakistan in which 10 journalists, in 163 cases of direct attacks on media, paid the ultimate price of practicing a difficult trade in the backdrop of rising terrorism and militancy and were killed in the line of duty, according to Dawn. Of these 10 journalists, four were killed in Punjab, three in the North-West Frontier Province (NWFP) and one each in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), Balochistan and Islamabad, according to the annual research on the state of media in Pakistan, released on December 30 by Intermedia, a Pakistani media development organisation that focuses on media research, advocacy and training. The total 163 cases included murders, assaults, abductions, explicit threats, censorship cases and attacks on media properties and establishments. Punjab bore the brunt of these attacks with 54 cases and the NWFP a close behind with 52, while Islamabad was the surprise third biggest victim of attacks on media with 28 cases. Sindh recorded 12 attacks, six attacks each were recorded in Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) and FATA, and three in Balochistan. Ten journalists were kidnapped in 2009, four in NWFP, two in Islamabad and one each in Balochistan, FATA, Punjab and Sindh. The report also documented at least 24 cases of assaults on working journalists across the country, in which 70 journalists were injured — 36 in Punjab, 12 in Islamabad, 10 in the NWFP, seven in Sindh and five in PoK. At least 28 journalists received threats in person or over the phone. Of these, nine journalists were in Islamabad, eight in the NWFP, seven in Sindh, and one in FATA. The Intermedia report also documented at least 35 cases of official gag orders, censorship or restrictions on publication or broadcast in 2009. Of these, the highest number of cases, 23, was in the NWFP, four in Punjab, three in Islamabad and one each in Sindh, Balochistan, FATA and PoK. Ten cases of physical and armed attacks were reported on media property and establishments, exemplified by the suicide attack on the Peshawar Press Club on December 22, 2009. Of these attacks, four were in the NWFP, two each in Fata and Punjab and one each in Islamabad and PoK. “At least 45 journalists have been killed in Pakistan in the last five years, several by suspected militants, but this is the first time that suicide squads of terrorists have targeted media persons as a specific, overt target, indicating a dramatic increase in the level of threats facing the media in the country,” Adnan Rehmat, executive director of Intermedia, said.
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Sri Lanka
Zone :
--All--
State :
--All--
District :
--All--
Date From :
The Valid date is required
Date To:
The Valid date is required