The Pakistan Army has made huge gains in the past month - this is actually surprising after a miserable start to the campaign that saw mass abductions of troops. But it has all changed as Pakistan commited over 20,000 troops to clearing Taliban-linked islamists from eight different towns and villages.
Here's the full story of the success.
Here's the full story of the success.
Pakistan Says Militants on the Run
By STEPHEN GRAHAM
Associated Press Writer
MINGORA, Pakistan (AP) -
The Pakistani army has driven Islamic militants from all the towns in a scenic northern valley and killed 290 of the followers of a pro-Taliban cleric who has called for a holy war against the government, a general said Saturday.
The militants, followers of firebrand preacher Maulana Fazlullah, had taken control of at least eight towns in the Swat valley since July, scattering outgunned police and erecting "Taliban station" signboards outside former police stations.
Officials accuse them of imposing a reign of terror, shuttering schools for girls and beheading locals who opposed them. Their seizure of the region demonstrated the government's feeble control in Pakistan's remote areas.
During a tour of the area, Maj. Gen. Nasser Janjua told reporters that since launching an offensive last month, his 20,000-strong force had managed to retake all the towns seized by the militants, driving some 400-500 militants into the Piochar side valley.
"We have bottled them upward and we want to take a good toll of them," Janjua said at an army base in Mingora, the region's main town.
The rest of Fazlullah's force, initially estimated to be about 5,000 strong, apparently hid their weapons and melted back into the local population.
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