Pak Army Secures Key Town in Swat Valley

Consolidating their position, Pakistani army has secured Charbagh, a main town in the Swat valley, said an army statement.

The statement said that three Taliban militants were killed in last 24 hours in various areas of Swat and that besides militants, a soldier and two civilians were also killed in the operation.

In lower Dir, army launched an operation and secured area from Gulabad to Shewa, Kipiari and Asband.

Army said that it launched an operation in Buner early Wednesday morning and secured Pirbaba and Bhai Kalay.

It should be noted that more than 1,200 militants have been killed since army launched an offensive against Taliban militants late April after militants in early April entered the Buner district from the neighboring Swat district and refused to vacate the area despite their pledge to do so.

Meanwhile, nearly 40 students from an army-run boarding school are still reportedly in Taliban captivity, till a day after the military said that all those kidnapped had been rescued, according to local press reports.

The army said Tuesday that security forces recovered 71 kidnapped cadets and nine staff members of the Razmak Cadet College at Ghariom, North Waziristan Agency, in Pakistan’s tribal area bordering Afghanistan.