Pakistan army claims Swat valley cleared of militants

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MINGORA, Pakistan, Dec 08 (AFP): Pakistan's army claimed Saturday it has cleared almost all of embattled northwestern Swat valley of militants, killing 290 rebels and arresting another 143 in recent weeks.
However the pro-Taliban cleric behind the bloody unrest, Maulana Fazlullah, was on the run in the scenic valley's mountains, along with hundreds of his loyal fighters, the army's chief operations commander told reporters.
It was the first briefing for foreign media in the valley since President Pervez Musharraf ordered troops on November 24 to wipe out militants who had seized control of the region calling for enforcement of Islamic Sharia laws.
Major General Nasser Janjua said some 20,000 troops backed by helicopter gunships and artillery had driven militants out of their strongholds in the ongoing military operation.
"Fazlullah is still on the run with hardcore militants estimated to be between 200 to 400, including some foreigners," Janjua told reporters at the army's makeshift headquarters in Mingora, the main town in the valley.
"The militants have retreated to two places in the mountains in the northwest of the valley and we will chase them there," the commander said.
It was not possible to verify Janjua's claims independently.
Janjua said five soldiers and six civilians had been killed in the operation and around 20 civilians were also wounded.
He said it would take up to four months to stabilise the region, which once attracted large numbers of foreign and local tourists.
But the army commander said it would take at least 12 months to reopen the region to tourists, also renowned for its ancient Buddhist relics.
He said Fazlullah had been involved with the 'enemy', and when pressed he named Osama bin Laden's terror network Al-Qaeda as having played a role in unrest in the conservative region.
"The Taliban and Al-Qaeda are looking for safe havens and trying to recruit the youth here," he said.
He said up to an estimated 5,000 supporters and fighters had been with Fazlullah at the start of the operation, but a majority of them were youths recruited by the cleric on payment of rupees 200 (three dollars) per day.
Fazlullah -- known as "Mullah Radio" for broadcasting fiery speeches over his private FM radio station -- has called for a holy war against the Pakistan government.
Meanwhile, Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf will lift the state of emergency on December 15, a day earlier than previously planned, the attorney general said.
"The emergency will be lifted on December 15," attorney general Malik Muhammad Qayyum said Friday.
Musharraf had earlier pledged to lift the state of emergency on December 16.
The announcement by the attorney general, who is also the government's chief lawyer, could not be immediately confirmed to AFP by a very close aide of president Musharraf.
Musharraf declared the state of emergency on November 3 to tackle what he said was growing Islamic militancy and an interfering judiciary.