Pakistan town drives out Taliban

Independent:

Residents of a town in the Swat valley took up arms to drive out Taliban fighters who were seeking sanctuary from a major military operation, it has been revealed.

In a rare instance of locals having the resources and determination to confront the militants, residents of the town of Kalam ousted the fighters and captured eight of them. They are now awaiting another possible assault from the militants.

News of the counter-offensive against the Taliban, which may indicate growing public support for the Pakistani military's attempt to drive them from several areas in the North West Frontier Province, came as the amount of foreign aid donated to help civilians who have been driven from their homes by the fighting passed $200m (£127m).

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Government forces are engaged in what appears to be a major offensive against the Taliban, who have seized control of large parts of Swat and the neighbouring districts of Buner and Lower Dir. The army says it has already killed more than 1,000 Taliban fighters and retaken large parts of Swat as well as the town of Sultanwas, described as the main militant stronghold in Buner following what were described as intense clashes.

"Sultanwas was the main stronghold of terrorist-miscreants in Buner, where they have made concrete underground bunkers and ammunition dumps," said the military spokesman Major-General Athar Abbas. With journalists effectively prevented from accessing the war zone, confirming such claims is impossible. At the same time, the military has admitted that the Taliban, while greatly outnumbered, are putting up fierce resistance and it has declined to predict how long the operation will take.

In such circumstances, the army will take a boost from reports about the actions of Kalam residents, who resisted the encroachment of about 50 Taliban fighters. Deputy Mayor Shamshad Haqqai told the Associated Press that when the militants tried to enter the town, which has a population of about 50,000 and which has so far remained outside Taliban control, local residents fought them off. "We will not allow Taliban to come here," he said.

The most obvious fall-out from the operation against the Taliban, which appears to have considerable public support, is the vast number of civilians who have poured out of the mountains in what represents Pakistan's biggest human displacement since partition.

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Certainly the people of Pakistan have good reason to resist the Taliban religious bigots. People in this area are known for their fierce independence and the Taliban are finding it an unwelcome place. They are able to control only through the force of arms.

The army is taking more time than it anticipated in clearing the area. Hopefully, that is because it is being more thorough than in the past is is intent on taking and hold the territory. That does take longer, but it also last longer.