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Pakistan army launches fresh drive aginst Al-Qaeda

By B. Muralidhar Reddy

ISLAMABAD, JUNE 9. Pakistan has claimed that it has killed eight militants in the tribal area bordering Afghanistan. The militants were killed during intense gun-battle between the Pakistan army and suspected Al-Qaeda militants. A late night AP report, quoting a security official in Peshawar, put the toll at 20.

Pakistani forces have been forced to launch fresh offensive in the region after weeks of talks with tribal leaders failed to ensure surrender of the holed up foreigners.

While there are no precise estimates of the number of militants hiding in the area, the Pakistan President, Pervez Musharraf, had mentioned a figure of 400 to 500 in March last when the forces were engaged in a bloody operation to flush them out.

After the Pakistani forces met with stiff resistance from a section of the tribes, resulting in a number of casualties, Gen. Musharraf halted the operation and initiated a dialogue to ensure the militants' peaceful surrender. Despite promise of amnesty, none of the militants surrendered.

The operation to flush out the militants was undertaken after complaints from Afghanistan and the United States that terrorists sheltered inside Pakistan were disturbing peace.

Confirming the killing of eight militants, the Director-General of Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR), Shaukat Sultan, said the military had suffered some casualties in the latest fighting, but refused to give details.

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