ISLAMABAD – Pakistani soldiers were locked in heavy fighting with Taliban militants in their Swat bastion on May 18, the army said. The government has won broad support for the offensive from political parties.
Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani said the army would finish the offensive and ensure peace as he sought support from political parties amid growing concerns about the well being of more than a million people displaced by the fighting.
"The army will remain in these areas until the displaced people can return to their homes, and until peace is established", Gilani said. The offensive, launched this month as international alarm grew over an intensifying insurgency, is making progress, and every effort will be made to help the more than 1 million people displaced by the fighting.
In all, more than 1,000 militants have been killed in the offensive, the government said; according to the military, more than 50 soldiers have been killed. There was no independent confirmation of the government's estimate of militant casualties.
Gilani told an all-parties’ conference on the fighting that soldiers would remain in Swat until peace was ensured and all the displaced people had gone home. "The operation against the terrorists is progressing very successfully”, he said, “and those who destroyed the peace of the nation are fleeing in disguise.”
A government spokesman later said all parties supported efforts to rid the country of terrorism.
President Asif Ali Zardari said Swat was just the beginning, and that the army would next move against militants in the Waziristan region on the Afghan border.
Despite doubts over Pakistan's alliance with the U.S. in its campaign against Islamist militants and objections to "fighting America's war", most political parties and many members of the public support the offensive.
"A victory in the fight against terrorism is, in fact, a guarantee for the security and protection of our coming generations", Zardari said.
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