Defiant Taliban Force Pak Govt to Evict Swat Valley

Just a day after Taliban declared that the peace deal “stand dissolved”, Pakistan Government has asked citizens to vacate Mingora, the main town in the region. The Taliban have taken up positions across Swat valley and continued to patrol roads and clash with security forces.

The head of the civil administration in Swat, Khushal Khan, issued instructed people to leave Mingora at the earliest. In the statement issued this afternoon, he said that curfew, which was imposed yesterday following defiance of Taliban, would be relaxed between 1.30 pm and 7 pm for this purpose.

Earlier, Khan had said that curfew would be imposed for an indefinite period because of the fragile law and order situation in SWAT. The intermediate school examinations too had been postponed, he said.

Even after the curfew was imposed, dozens of Taliban fighters continued patrolling the roads and attacking security check posts.

The militants made fresh assault on security check posts following operations being launched against them in nearby Dir and Buner districts. According to reports, police and security personnel were largely restricted to police stations and camps.

A news channel reports that there were clashes between militants and security forces at several places, including Mingora, the main city in Swat. Militants were also seen planting improvised explosive devices on roads in Mingora, the news channel reported. The Taliban surrounded Mingora police station, the circuit house and a power station where 46 security personnel were deployed.

The Taliban made announcements asking the besieged security personnel at the power station to surrender, the news channels reported.

Reports said that six civilians were killed when they were caught in an exchange of fire between security forces and militants. However, the reports could not be independently confirmed.