Pakistani Villagers Defend Their Village and Smack Down The Taliban

This act will probably end up costing this village some serious casualties down the line but the Pakistani residents of Kalam, Pakistan decided today NOT to let the Taliban seek refuge in their town so when 50 Taliban entered Kalam, the locals gathered their weapons and defended their home. And they won. The Taliban were slapped around pretty good with eight Taliban being taken prisoner. Good for them! And I might add...it's about time! As the story here at Breitbart details, the Taliban are busy seeking some new, safer accommodations with the Pakistani army hammmering them pretty good so we will probably see a good deal more of these villages getting unwanted visitors. Here's some of the details of the thwarted invasion:

Armed residents foiled an attempt by Taliban militants to expand their reach in Pakistan's Swat Valley as foreign aid for refugees fleeing an army offensive in the northwestern region passed $200 million, officials said Thursday.
The attempted infiltration in Kalam indicated insurgents are feeling pinched by an army offensive and are seeking new shelter, while the local resistance suggested growing public confidence in an anti-Taliban operation supported by the United States.

Deputy Mayor Shamshad Haqqai told The Associated Press that about 50 Taliban fighters tried to enter Kalam, but that residents gathered quickly Wednesday to fight them off. They captured eight militants during a shootout and were expecting another attack, Haqqai said.
"We will not allow Taliban to come here," he said. Kalam, a town in the far north of the valley, has about 50,000 residents and has so far remained beyond Taliban control.

There have been pockets of Pakistani natives who have tried to establish themselves against the Taliban in the past...even forming lashkars (militias)...but the results haven't been that great as the Taliban have been good at intimidating that formation and of course, the Taliban don't usually just turn tail after one altercation. But in the end, Pakistan will probably be decided by just this kind of incident - if the people stand up, if they simply decide not to take anymore of the Taliban terror, they might just do more to force the Taliban out of NW Pakistan than any division of Pakistani troops.

Official: Pakistanis in Swat town fend off Taliban

Deputy Mayor Shamshad Haqqai told The Associated Press that about 50 Taliban fighters tried to enter Kalam, but that residents gathered quickly Wednesday to fight them off. They captured eight militants during a shootout and were expecting another attack, Haqqai said.
"We will not allow Taliban to come here," he said. Kalam, a town in the far north of the valley, has about 50,000 residents and has so far remained beyond Taliban control.
Washington has stepped up its pressure on Islamabad to eliminate al-Qaida and Taliban sanctuaries across its northwestern regions bordering Afghanistan.
Pakistani troops launched the latest offensive last month after Swat militants pushed into adjacent Buner district, bringing them within 60 miles (100 kilometers) of the capital.
The army claims it has killed more than 1,000 militants and won back swaths of territory in Swat, a valley whose scenery once drew hordes of tourists. But it faces stiff resistance and has ventured no prediction of when the Taliban will be defeated.
On Thursday, it said five soldiers and an unspecified number of "miscreants-terrorists" were killed in battles in several parts of the valley during the previous 24 hours. Seven militants were captured, a military statement said.
The army's account was impossible to verify because reporters have little access to the war zone.
Authorities say the clashes have prompted about 1.9 million people to flee their homes, creating a humanitarian crisis that could sap Pakistani enthusiasm for the effort if it drags on or spreads to other areas.
Relatives have taken in most of those driven out of Swat, and officials have already declared some parts of Buner safe for refugees to return, despite continued clashes in the district.
However, Rear Adm. Michael A. LeFever, the top U.S. military official at the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad, forecast Wednesday that between 200,000 and 250,000 will be living in refugee camps through the end of the year.
Many thousands more are believed to be hunkered down in their homes in areas including Kalam, unwilling or unable to move.