Pakistan army captures 250 foreign militants: official

• Source: Global Times
• [02:08 November 17 2009]
• Comments

Pakistani volunteers and local residents search for blast victims Monday in the rubble following a suicide car bombing on the outskirts of Peshawar that killed four people. Photo: AFP

By Hao Zhou and Qiu Yongzheng in Rawalpindi

Pakistani military forces have now captured around 1,400 Taliban militants as prisoners, and 250 of them are foreigners, Inter Services Public Relations spokesperson Major General Athar Abbas told the Global Times Monday.

Most of the foreigners are from Afghanistan, central Asian and African countries, Abbas said, adding that they are kept separately in different cities, among them Peshawar.

Earlier this month, the Pakistan government announced a $5 million reward for information aiding the capture of Pakistan's Taliban leadership, including Hakimullah Mehsud, and his two top aides, Wali-ur-Rehman and Qari Hussain Mehsud.

Abbas said there is neither progress in locating those Taliban leaders nor confirmation of the presence of Osama bin Laden and other Al Qaeda masterminds.

Pakistan has beefed up offensives against Taliban positions, with at least 24 militants killed as jets bombed the tribal region of Orakzai on Sunday, the Dawn newspaper said yesterday.

Abbas told the Global Times that the Pakistan army has deployed as many as 150,000 troops in total, far exceeding the previous expected 60,000 soldiers, on the battlegrounds in South Waziristan.

He said Pakistani forces have taken over all the roads and populous centers in South Waziristan, with Taliban militants hiding in forests, mountains, villages and caves.

"Now what's left is the countryside,"Abbas said. "We will expand operations toward the countryside in South Waziristan. We have to clear those areas away from the populous centers and roads.”

Asked whether the coming winter will cause trouble for the ongoing operations in the mountainous tribal areas, Abbas said it will cause more difficulties to the fleeing insurgents.

"Because our military troops are very well-prepared, they have winter clothing, efficient weapons, and their supply routes are guaranteed,"Abbas said. "So they are in a better position than the terrorists.”

The snowfall is coming soon to South Waziristan, and it will become extremely cold then, Sunil Shoukat, manager of the Royal Residence in Islamabad, told the Global Times.

"We see the winter as an opportunity to further eliminate them,"Abbas said.