The Pakistan army said on Monday it had ceased operations against Taliban militants in the northwestern valley of Swat, and an Islamist cleric asked for troops to be shifted to "safer places" to give peace a chance
The Pakistan army said on Monday it had ceased operations against Taliban militants in the northwestern valley of Swat, and an Islamist cleric asked for troops to be shifted to "safer places" to give peace a chance.
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US officials have expressed unease about Pakistan's strategy for pacifying Swat. They fear it could result in another safe haven for al-Qaeda and Taliban militants in the country.
"The military operation has been halted," said military spokesman Major-General Athar Abbas, explaining that further civilian casualties would have alienated support for the army.
Thousands of people have fled their homes, and the Taliban largely controls the valley despite the presence of four army brigades.
The army had already reduced operations in Swat because it lacked public backing, and was hampered by the breakdown of the local administration and ineffectiveness of the police in the face of the insurgency, Abbas said.
Abbas said there would be no sanctuary for militants in Swat so long as the writ of the state was re-established. But he said that at this stage that was "a big if."
The army needed sophisticated surveillance equipment and attack helicopters to fight a counter-insurgency campaign, Abbas said, echoing a point that army chief Ashfaq Kayani was expected to make in the United States this week.
The army has been fighting Taliban insurgents in several tribal regions bordering Afghanistan, but the insurgency in Swat, a one time tourist haven in the mountains, was just 130 km from the capital Islamabad.
Critics say the government, which has offered to instate Islamic sharia law in Swat and neighboring regions, has risked encouraging militancy with policies of appeasement.
On Sunday, authorities freed two Taliban fighters in exchange for an official and six guards kidnapped in Swat, according to a militant spokesman.
Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi will doubtless face questions over Swat when he meets US and Afghan officials in Washington this week to review the security strategy for the region.
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