Taliban urges return of Swat civilians
The Taliban have urged civilians to return to the Swat Valley’s main city, promising they would not attack security forces out of concern for the safety of trapped residents.
But Pakistan’s military dismissed the gesture as a ploy that would allow the militants to blend in with the residents of Mingora and said it had no intention of halting its offensive in the valley.
More than two million civilians have fled Swat and nearby districts, making it easier for the army to single out insurgents, and returning civilians could complicate the battle.
The appeal also appeared designed to play off the growing public concern for thousands still stuck in Mingora amid shortages of food and water.
The US has strongly backed Pakistan’s month-old offensive in the north-west valley and neighbouring districts. US officials want Pakistan to root out hideouts used by al-Qaida and Taliban fighters to plan attacks on Western troops in nearby Afghanistan and Swat is considered an important test of the Muslim nation’s ability and willingness to do so.
Taliban spokesman Muslim Khan said the Taliban’s pledge was not a formal ceasefire offer and the Islamist militia’s “aides” would stay in the city.
“I would like to appeal to the people of Mingora to get back to their homes and start their routine life as we will not fire even a single shot,” he said in a phone call from an undisclosed location.
The army said it secured several major intersections in Mingora, a key commercial hub that under normal circumstances is home to at least 375,000 people. Many of the extremists were fleeing Mingora for Kabal, a town to the west that security forces were also trying to secure, the army said yesterday.
Troops also have secured Malam Jabba – a ski resort that militants wrecked last year – which the army said the Taliban were using as a training centre and logistics base.
Asked about the Taliban’s appeal, army spokesman Major General Athar Abbas said the militants “have started using ploys to escape. They are now remembering the civilians whom they used to behead and decapitate”.
He said the operation – which involves 12,000 to 15,000 security forces – would go on as planned. Earlier, he estimated some 1,500 to 2,000 hardcore militants remained in the valley.
Up to 20,000 civilians remain in Mingora. A resident on the city’s outskirts said 3,000 people were stranded in his neighbourhood.
“We do not have anything to eat. We do not have water,” Liaqat Ali said. “We do not have medicines. We do not have any doctor or any hospitals to go to.”
The military says about 1,100 suspected insurgents have died so far in the offensive. It has not given a civilian death toll.
Residents fleeing the region have reported dozens of ordinary Pakistanis killed in the fight. Journalists have mostly been barred from reporting there.
