Pakistan suspends military operations for Ramadan
Pakistan's government has announced it will suspend all military operations in the country's northwest from today in deference to the holy month of Ramadan, which starts next week.
Interior ministry chief Rehman Malik told a news conference in the Pakistani capital yesterday that the temporary halt in operations was to allow civilians in the region to observe the religious festival.
"I am suspending military operations in tribal areas in northwest in deference to the holy month of Ramadan," he said, warning that the army will reserve the right to retaliate if attacked.
Troops backed by helicopter gunships and heavy artillery have for weeks been pounding militant strongholds in the northwest, killing more than 560 people in recent weeks, Malik said, giving the new toll.
Pakistan's fragile coalition government, which pushed US ally Pervez Musharraf to resign as president on August 18 over impeachment threats, is under heavy international pressure to combat the rebels.
But violence linked to the country's role in the "war on terror" has killed nearly 1,200 people in suicide and bomb attacks across Pakistan in the past year.
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