US rejects Pak complaint on Swat aid

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 17th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - An editorial in a Pakistani daily has said that victory over the Taliban in the Swat and Malakand Divisions of the country's North West frontier Province (NWFP) can only be accepted and certified after it is confirmed that the top leadership of the insurgents is defeated and eliminated. According to the editorial in The Dawn newspaper, the demand of the hour is that the security forces 'do more' to reclaim the Swat once and for all.

August 10th, 2009 PESHAWAR - Around 115,458 displaced families from Swat, Malakand and other conflict-hit areas have returned home since the process of rehabilitation began on July 13. A majority of the families used private transport for their return, with the Emergency Response Unit (ERU) saying that only 30 percent of the displaced families opted for the transport arranged by the government, the Daily Times reports.

August 9th, 2009 SWAT - The Swat education department has said that the Taliban has destroyed 238 out of 1,576 schools affecting more than 56,250 students in the province. The department has demanded a grant of 2,203 million rupees from the provincial government, for the reconstruction of more than 238 school destroyed by the Taliban, The Dawn reports.

August 5th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - Pakistani security forces have killed eight militants and arrested 14 suspects during military operations in Swat, Dir and Malakand. Three militants were killed during a search operation in the Goratai area of the Swat valley.

June 24th, 2009 PESHAWAR - Deputy commander of the Swat Taliban, Maulana Shah Dauran, has reportedly been injured as the Pakistan Army continued to pound militant hideouts in Swat and Malakand Divisions. Sources said Dauran, who is famous for his hate speeches on the outfit's illegal FM radio station, along with several other insurgents were injured during a military strike in the Kabal region of Swat.

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.

May 27th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - Pakistan security forces Wednesday said they killed 12 more militants in the ongoing operation against Taliban in northwest valley of Swat. Army spokesman Major General Athar Abbas said one soldiers was also killed and three others wounded during the firefight with the insurgents.

May 27th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Responding to the United Nations call for a 'humanitarian pause' in the Swat offensive, the Pakistan Army has said such a halt in the offensive is not possible at present, as it would provide a breather to extremists. "Lifting the curfew would mean letting the operational situation slip out of hand," ISPR spokesperson Major General Athar Abbas said.

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 PESHAWAR - Pakistan's North West Frontier Province Minister for Information, Iftikhar Hussain, on Thursday said normalcy has restored in different parts of Buner up to Dagar area where, he added, the security forces have regained complete control. The News quoted him as saying that one million people have become confined to Swat due to the curfew 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.

April 22nd, 2009 MINGORA - Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan has said that they are ready to welcome Osama bin Laden in Swat, and added that they are not bound to honour the peace accord between the government and cleric Sufi Muhammad. Pak Taliban said the NWFP Government had signed the deal with Tehreek-e-Nifaz-e-Shariat-e-Muhammadi and not with the Taliban, a private TV channel reported.

April 22nd, 2009 ISLAMABAD - NWFP Governor Owais Ghani has briefed foreign diplomats at the Foreign Office on the deal with militants in Swat. "The problem [afflicting the region] lies in Afghanistan and unless you settle the issue there, it will be difficult to create peace in Swat and other border regions of Pakistan," Ghani said.

March 21st, 2009 WASHINGTON - A new US resolution introduced in the House of Representatives has asked the Obama administration to condemn restrictions imposed on girls' education by the Taliban in the Swat region. Introduced by Congresswoman Carolyn B Maloney, the resolution urges Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to ensure that girls in Swat get access to education.