Taliban has destroyed 238 schools in Swat

September 23rd, 2009 PESHAWAR - Extremists have bombed a co-ed primary school in Peshawar destroying the three room building completely, Pakistani security officials said. There were no immediate reports of any casualty in the bombing as the school was closed on the occassion of Eid -ul-Fitr.

September 20th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - Pakistani Taliban commander Sher Mohammad Qasab, who carried a Rs.10 million bounty and was arrested from the Swat Valley, has died, authorities said Sunday. Qasab was critically injured during the Swat operation and he succumbed to his injuries, Geo TV reported.

August 8th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - Islamabad may be seeing the Pakistani military' operations against the Taliban in Swat as a success, but the "dismal plight" of internally displaced persons (IDPs) and those returning home threatens to squander gains from disrupting the Taliban, a New York Times editorial says. According the opinion by former US State Department official Morton Abramowitz, many IDPs sought shelter with their families or friends, and around 50 percent ended up squatting in schools or staying with strangers.

August 1st, 2009 PESHAWAR - The government of Pakistan's NWFP province has announced the opening of schools from Saturday, but most parents are hesitant about sending their daughters to the tent schools without proper security arrangements. Recently, the Swat Taliban had destroyed 162 girls' schools calling them anti-Islamic.

July 31st, 2009 PESHAWAR - All educational institutions in the war-affected areas of Swat and two other districts in Pakistan's restive northwest will reopen Saturday, with teachers being directed to ensure their attendance or face strict departmental action. The North West Frontier Province (NWFP) education department Friday directed teachers to ensure their attendance in the schools, Online news agency reported.

July 25th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - The Pakistan Army said Saturday that 14 Taliban fighters were killed in clashes with security forces in the country's northwestern Swat valley and its adjoining district of Buner. According to an army statement 10 militants died when the troops conducted search operations in four areas of Buner, located some 100 km northwest of Islamabad.

July 21st, 2009 ISLAMABAD - Pakistani security forces have killed at least 114 Taliban militants in two separate operation in Lower Dir and Swat regions, while three army officials have also lost their lives, a private TV channel has claimed. During the operation, troops managed to destroyed many bunkers and hideouts in Lower Dir, after they targeted the headquarters.

July 7th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - Pakistan Prime Minister's advisor on Interior Affairs, Rehman Malik has said that the major Taliban leadership has been wiped out from Swat. Talking to media persons here, Malik claimed that the military offensive being carried out in the North West Frontier Province's (NWFP) Swat and Malakand Divisions have been successful with top commanders of the Taliban killed.

June 30th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - At least 45 Taliban insurgents were killed in separate incidents in South Waziristan, as the Pakistan Air Force fighter jets continued to pound militant hideouts in the region. Several extremists were also reportedly killed in clashes with the tribal militias in Swat and Kurram region.

June 26th, 2009 PESHAWAR - In what may be seen as a show of defiance against the military which has launched a major offensive against the Tehreek-e-Taliban chief Baitullah Mehsud in the region, the Taliban has blown up a girls' school in South Waziristan. The incident took place in Shin Warsak town situated about 13 kilometres away from Wana, the capital of South Waziristan, The Nation reports.

June 5th, 2009 RAWALPINDI - Pakistan's Army Chief General Ashfaq Kayani has said that the military had "decisively turned the tide" against the Taliban in Swat and adjoining districts. "The tide in Swat has decisively turned and major population centres and roads leading to the valley have been largely cleared of organised resistance by the Taliban," said General Kayani while addressing the 119th Corps Commanders' Conference at General Headquarters.

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.

May 30th, 2009 RAWALPINDI - The Pakistan Army has claimed that it has pushed the Taliban out of Bahrain and Peochar village in the Swat Valley, killing at least 28 insurgents including a top commander Khush Mir Khan alias Abu Huzaifa in the process. Security forces have also arrested seven Taliban from different areas of the valley.

May 20th, 2009 LAHORE - The Taliban is forcibly recruiting young men and training them to fight against the army. A young Taliban operative arrested by security personnel from the Mata tehsil region of the Swat Valley has disclosed that the outlawed unit is recruiting teenagers in large numbers to fight against the military in the ongoing operation in the Valley.

April 25th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - Pakistani Taliban stopped a convoy of security forces from entering their stronghold in Swat Valley on Saturday. A News Network International (NNI) news agency report said seven army trucks were stopped by armed Taliban at Qamabr, a small town of Mingora, the main city in the Swat Valley of North West Frontier Province.