Pakistan forces destroy Taliban stronghold on Afghan border

PAKISTAN: PAKISTANI TROOPS have destroyed a Taliban stronghold on the Afghanistan border and unearthed a network of underground…

PAKISTAN:PAKISTANI TROOPS have destroyed a Taliban stronghold on the Afghanistan border and unearthed a network of underground bunkers used for planning and training militants, a senior Pakistani security official claimed yesterday.

Officials said the stronghold destroyed in Bajaur province in an operation completed over the weekend was one of three or four of its kind on the Pakistani side of the Afghan border. It was used for meetings of key commanders and for stockpiles of weapons and ammunition, they said.

Bajaur, the smallest of the seven "agencies" that make up Pakistan's semi-autonomous tribal areas, has been the site of a major offensive against militants since August. Pakistan's role in supporting US and Nato forces in Afghanistan to suppress al-Qaeda and Taliban militants has faced questions recently, and senior officials in Washington and at the defence alliance have urged Islamabad to do more to limit the flow of militants into Afghanistan.

A storm of criticism erupted in Pakistan this month after US air strikes and raids on suspected militant sites near the Afghan border.

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At a briefing for reporters yesterday, Pakistan sought to portray the destruction of the Bajaur stronghold as a significant victory in its efforts to stem the flow of militants across the border. The latest success, a senior security official said, would mean a 65-70 per cent reduction in the hundreds of militants who crossed the border.

Pakistani officials have acknowledged hundreds of militants cross the border every week to fight the Nato-led force in Afghanistan.

One western defence official said the destruction of the Bajaur stronghold was significant, but it was impossible to see what the full impact of "this single victory" would eventually be.

Another western official said the operation showed the military was capable of striking at the heart of the militant structure.

Analysts said Islamabad appeared more intent on battling militants since Gen Ashfaq Kiyani, the army chief, this month reiterated Pakistan's right to take action against militants on its own soil.

The UN said yesterday that some 20,000 people from the Bajaur province had fled to Afghanistan in recent months due to the intense fighting between government forces and militants.

- (Financial Times service)