Pakistan winds up operation in northwest, says military
ISLAMABAD (AFP) — The Pakistani army Wednesday wound up an operation in a restive northwestern town near the Afghan border after clearing the area of Taliban forces, the military said.
Authorities launched an offensive in the increasingly troubled district of Hangu last week after insurgents occupying the area killed 17 paramilitary troops in an ambush.
"The operation has been wound up after clearing the area of militants and destroying their hideouts," chief military spokesman Major General Athar Abbas told AFP.
He said "at least 20 militants were killed and 16 troops embraced martyrdom during the week-long operation."
He added: "Sixty militants were also arrested during the operation, which has achieved all objectives."
Asked how long the army would stay in the area after completing the operation, he said: "It is up to the provincial government to decide for how long the troops should be present in the district."
Pakistan is under intense pressure from the United States and other Western allies to crack down on Taliban forces on its side of the porous border with Afghanistan.
Pakistan is battling a resurgence in Islamist violence after a brief lull brought about by the new government's negotiations with Taliban militants in the tribal belt bordering Afghanistan.
But the United States, Pakistan's main ally in the "war on terror," has said it did not approve of the negotiations, which include top Taliban commander Baitullah Mehsud, who is accused of masterminding last year's assassination of former premier Benazir Bhutto.
Washington has warned that Al-Qaeda is rebuilding itself in Pakistan's tribal areas for a possible terrorist attack on US soil. And Kabul has accused Pakistan of backing Taliban insurgents waging a bloody insurgency against international troops in Afghanistan.
