WORLD> Asia-Pacific
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WORLD> Asia-Pacific
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Military halts offensive in Pakistan for Ramadan
(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-09-01 09:43 ISLAMABAD, Pakistan -- Pakistan has suspended an operation against insurgents in a tribal region for the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, and a blast blamed on a missile reportedly killed four suspected foreign militants elsewhere in the northwest. Interior Ministry chief Rehman Malik did not commit to a formal end to the operation but said Sunday that people displaced by the fighting in the Bajur tribal region, could return to their homes "without any fear." A Taliban spokesman welcomed the decision to halt the strikes in Bajur, a rumored hide-out of Osama bin Laden, but government and military officials warned that any provocations by insurgents in the area would spark immediate retaliation. American officials have pressed Pakistan to crack down on militants in its tribal regions, fearing Taliban and al-Qaida-linked fighters involved in attacks on US and NATO forces in Afghanistan use those border areas as safe zones. The US is suspected in a series of missile strikes targeting alleged militant compounds in Pakistan's rugged tribal belt. Pakistani Taliban spokesman Maulvi Umar welcomed the suspension of the operation in Bajur, and reiterated an offer to negotiate with the government. However, he said militants would not lay down their arms as the government has demanded. Pakistan's five-month-old government has already tried peace talks with the militants, but those efforts bore little fruit. It has turned to force in recent weeks, including using helicopter gunships and jets to strike insurgent hide-outs. Bajur has been the primary focus, though clashes also have occurred in the northwest's Swat Valley. The operation in Bajur has killed at least 562 Islamist insurgents and displaced more than 300,000 people, Malik said Sunday. |
