By Xinhua
Islamabad : The Pakistani army said Saturday that it had cleared almost the entire Swat valley in country’s northwest of militants, killing 290 rebels and arresting 143 in recent weeks.
Major General Nasser Janjua, the army’s chief operations commander told reporters that some 20,000 troops backed by helicopter gunships and artillery had driven militants out of their strongholds in the ongoing military operation.
However, he said, rebel leader Maulana Fazlullah was on the run in the valley’s mountains, along with hundreds of his loyal fighters.
“Fazlullah is still on the run with hardcore militants estimated to be 200 to 400, including some foreigners,” Janjua told reporters.
“The militants have retreated to two places in the mountains in the northwest of the valley and we will chase them there,” He said.
It was the first tour organized by the military for foreign media in the valley since President Pervez Musharraf ordered troops on Nov 24 to wipe out militants who had seized control of the region calling for enforcement of Islamic Shariat laws.
But Janjua said that it would take at least 12 months to reopen the region to tourists, also renowned for its ancient Buddhist relics.
He named Osama bin Laden’s terror network Al Qaeda as having played a role in unrest in the conservative region.
“The Taliban and Al Qaeda are looking for safe havens and trying to recruit the youth here,” Janjua said.
He said that up to an estimated 5,000 supporters and fighters had been with Fazlullah at the start of the operation, but a majority of them were youths recruited by the cleric on payment of 200 Pak rupees (about $3) per day.
Fazlullah, known as “Mullah Radio” for broadcasting fiery speeches over his private FM radio station, has called for a holy war against the government of Pakistan.