By Michael Burgevin
Officials announced that over 200 Taliban militants were killed yesterday in the Northwestern Pakistani region of Swat after the government launched a military offensive against the fundamentalist organization early last week. The Taliban already controls much of Northwestern Pakistan including the Buner Valley, located just 60 miles away from the capitol city of Islamabad. The Pakistani government believes that an estimated 4,000 militants are currently stationed in Swat. Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and army chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani announced on May 7 that the military would begin an “all-out assault” to defeat the rebels.
The intensified fighting came just after the Pakistani government relaxed a military curfew for a second time this week, giving civilians time to flee the region. The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees estimates that over half a million citizens have already fled the region or are attempting to leave. The influx of refugees has created a state of humanitarian emergency in southern Pakistan. A number of accounts indicate that many civilians have been unable to leave the region due to fighting. The Taliban is allegedly using residents as human shields.
Many civilians have already been killed. Riaz Kahn, a 36-year-old school teacher, and his family have not been able to escape Mingora, Swat’s central town. They have taken shelter in the hospital. Shrapnel wounds cover their bodies, and two of the daughters have already been killed. “We buried our daughters on Thursday when the army relaxed the curfew,” Kahn told the Associated Press. “We reached the hospital only with great difficulty.”
In his visit to the United States last week, Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari attempted to assure Capital Hill that his government is capable of suppressing the Taliban forces. The United States has annually donated over one billion dollars to the Pakistani military since 2001. Special Envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan Richard Holbrooke announced to the House Foreign Affairs Committee on Tuesday that President Zardari has the support of the White House. However, many senior administrators have been reluctant to continue granting aid a foreign government they believe to be incompetent and corrupt.
Many are calling for opposition leader and former Primer Minister Nawaz Sharif to join President Zardari, his rival, in a unified front against the Taliban. As of this time, Sharif, who was exiled after the 1999 coup, has shown no willingness to side with Zardari.
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