Pakistan has driven militants from all but one region, says army

[sonicboom]

Pakistan has driven militants from all but one region, says army

By Rob Crilly in Peshawar
Published: 8:00PM BST 08 Jun 2010

Major General Tariq Khan, Inspector General of the Frontier Scouts, who have provided law and order since colonial times, said he would wind down major operations within the next two months.

He said it would leave only North Waziristan – a rugged, mountainous region that has drawn Jihadi groups from across Pakistan – in the hands of the militants.

The regular Pakistan Army is expected to launch operations in North Waziristan later this year. Officers have said they are ready in principle to strike militant targets but are waiting for other operations to end.

Maj Gen Khan said his men had cleared 13,000 square miles in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas, with large-scale fighting remaining in one last area.

"We are about to conclude our operation in Orakzai, which will be the last of it," he said. "The Frontier Scouts area will more or less be cleared of militants to the extent that we can stop kinetic – large-scale – operations but we will continue policing operations."

He admitted though that retaking Taliban strongholds did not completely eliminate the threat from suicide bombings or other attacks.

"It is very easy for a militant that is on the loose to do damage to civilians," he added.

The Frontier Scouts trace their origins back to 1907, when Lord Curzon, the viceroy of British India, created the Frontier Corps combining several tribal militias, including the iconic Khyber Rifles.

Their role was to provide law and order in the tribal belt but in recent years the 50,000-strong force has been tasked with leading the fight against the Taliban.

The Taliban's firm hold on North Waziristan was underlined yesterday when hundreds of people assembled in the main town Miranshah to watch a man executed at gunpoint. A Taliban court had earlier found him guilty of murdering two brothers American officials have questioned whether Pakistan is willing to take on militants after using them in the past to further Islamabad's anti-Indian policies in the region.

Pakistan has driven militants from all but one region, says army - Telegraph