Swat offensive to continue until ‘normalcy’ returns to valley: Zardari

August 22nd, 2009 BEIJING - Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari has supported China's policies in its insurgency hit Xinjiang region. Zardari, who arrived here on Friday on a four day visit, said Islamabad endorses China's policies in the riot hit Xinjiang region, where nearly 200 people were killed in ethnic riots between Muslim Uighurs and Han Chinese residents.

August 11th, 2009 Malakand (NWFP, Pakistan) - Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has said security forces would remain in war ravaged Swat Valley until displaced people are rehabilitated and normalcy returns to the region completely. "I am confident your presence in the area will not only discourage anti-state elements from regrouping, but also improve the pace of development in the area," Gilani told a gathering of soldiers during his visit to Malakand.

July 5th, 2009 LAHORE - Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari has said that the offensive against the Taliban and other extremist groups being carried out in the Swat and Malakand Divisions would be concluded only when the region is completely sanitized. Zardari met Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, and Chief of Army Staff General Ashfaq Kayani here to discuss issues relating to the security situation in the country including the ongoing campaign against Taliban in Swat, Malakand and FATA.

July 2nd, 2009 ISLAMABAD - Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari has said that the military offensive against the Taliban would continue until all the extremists are rooted out from the country. "The fight against militancy and terrorism will end with the complete elimination of militants," Zardari said during a meeting with Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Ashfaq Kayani here.

June 13th, 2009 LAHORE - Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari has said that former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto was killed because she challenged the writ of the Taliban. In a television address to the nation, Zardari said Bhutto's loss has made him realize the pain of families who have been a victim of terrorism.

June 5th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari has said that extremism can not pose a threat to the sovereignty of the country, and claimed that the Swat offensive is fully backed by Pakistan's political fraternity. Zardari said the country's civil society and the political forces would never allow the extremists to carry on their nefarious activities to expand their writ.

June 4th, 2009 PESHAWAR - The Pakistan Army might be claiming success in its operation in the Swat Valley, but a large number of people, who have been forced to flee the region due to the military operation, have put a question mark over the offensive, saying no key Taliban leader has been nabbed or killed so far. Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), who have fled the valley and have taken refuge in government schools here, are skeptical about the authenticity of the military offensive, The Daily Times reports.

June 1st, 2009 ISLAMABAD - Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif has said that the Taliban and other extremist groups are now planning to expand their writ into the province, as the security forces have successfully flushed them out from important locations in the Swat Valley. "There is no doubt that one of their aims is to penetrate into Punjab as well as to stop operation in Swat," The Nation quoted Sharif, as saying.

May 23rd, 2009 LAHORE - Hinting that the military offensive against the Taliban and other extremist groups could be expanded into other regions than the Swat Valley, Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari has said the Taliban would be hunted down everywhere inside the country's geographical territory. In an interview to a private television channel, Zardari refuted media reports that quoted him as saying that the government is planning to carry out military operations in Waziristan after Swat.

May 18th, 2009 LAHORE - Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf chief Imran Khan has said the government will have to give an answer as to what prompted it to initiate a military operation in the Swat Valley when it could have tried restoring peace in the region through dialogue. Talking to media persons here, the cricketer-turned-politician said his party would quiz the government during the all-party conference as to why it considered the Swat operation inevitable.

May 14th, 2009 LAHORE - While Pakistan has claimed to have sanitized hundreds of Taliban operatives during the ongoing military operation in the Swat Valley, a US expert has said the offensive has a 'bleak' chance of achieving success and yielding the desired result. Key US strategist, David Kilcullen said that due to Pakistan Army's inexperience and its refusal to accept help from the West in the operation, the success of the Swat military offensive is doubtful.

May 12th, 2009 WASHINGTON - The United States has reiterated it 'full faith and confidence' in Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari saying they have been reassured about Islamabad's commitment to dealing with the Taliban and safety of its nuclear arsenal. 'We were assured by President Zardari that they have complete command and control of the nuclear weapons in Pakistan,' State Department spokesman Ian Kelly told reporters Monday when asked whether the US had made any promises about helping to protect Pakistan's nuclear arsenal.

May 11th, 2009 WASHINGTON - President Asif Ali Zardari has said he knew the Swat peace deal with the Taliban would not work, even as the Pakistan Army intensified its operation against the militant group in the troubled region. The Pakistani Army's advance in Swat marks the failure of Islamabad's boldest attempt yet to compromise with the Taliban.

April 30th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari has urged citizens of the country to support the security forces in the fight against the Taliban and other extremists groups in Buner, Maidan and the Swat regions of the North West Frontier Province (NWFP). The military operation against the Taliban in the Swat Valley was critical for the protection of the country's Constitution, Zardari said.

April 27th, 2009 LAHORE - Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari has said the government would be compelled to review its stand on the Swat peace deal and the Nizam-e-Adl Regulation if the people of the region opined the accord has failed to establish peace. "When the people of Swat feel there is no peace even after the regulation, then the provincial government, assembly and the parliament can give their opinion on this issue," The Daily Times quoted Zardari, as saying.