Pak military halts offensive for Ramadan
Pakistan suspended fighting in the volatile northwest Monday for the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, and some of the 300,000 people displaced by air strikes and gunbattles started packing up belongings to return to their shattered homes.
The military warned, however, that any provocations in the Bajur tribal region, a rumoured hide-out of Osama bin Laden near the border with Afghanistan, would bring immediate retaliation.
While Taliban spokesman Maulvi Umar welcomed a cessation in fighting, and reiterated an offer to negotiate with the government, he said militants would not lay down their arms as demanded.
Meanwhile, seven Pakistani security personnel were today killed when Taliban militants ambushed their vehicle near a strategic tunnel in the troubled North West Frontier Province.
The security personnel were moving from a camp to the posts they had established in mountains near the Kohat tunnel when they were ambushed and killed by the militants, TV channels reported.
The incident came days after Taliban suicide bombers unsuccessfully attempted to target an army camp near the tunnel which links the Peshawar in NWFP to other parts of the province.
Pakistan's five-month-old government at first tried peace talks with militants, but those efforts bore little fruit. It has turned to force in recent weeks, including using helicopter gunships and jets to strike suspected insurgent hide-outs.
The operation in Bajur began in early August. Interior Ministry chief Rehman Malik said it has killed more than 560 insurgents. Malik did not commit to a formal end to the operation but said an estimated 300,000 people displaced from Bajur could return to the region "without any fear."
Some started gathering their belongings from sweltering, mosquito-infested relief camps so they could go home for Ramadan. But others, barely scraping by, said they could not afford to make the journey and would remain with their families in cramped tents for the holy month.
"God knows what will happen once we get there," said Bakhsh Ali Khan, who was heading with his wife and five children to their home in Pashat, an area of Bajur. "But we're living in shambles here. Our family has been separated, we do not have enough food, proper clothing or beds."
American officials have pressed Pakistan to crack down on militants in its tribal regions, fearing Taliban and al-Qaeda-linked fighters involved in attacks on US and Nato forces in Afghanistan use those border areas as safe zones.
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