Pakistani internal security (catch all)

[George L. Singleton]

The below partial quote is from today's date, July 18 GLOBAL HUJRA ONLINE. Understand these statements are unconfirmed and could be sheer Taliban propaganda. Spreading false tales is common even in peacetime among Pakhtuns.

http://www.khyberwatch.com/forums/showthread.php?t=6466

http://www.khyberwatch.com/forums/sh...6712#post76712

Saturday, July 18, 2009
FC officials deny report
(FC -= FRONTIER CORP, Pakistan Army)
By Delawar Jan

PESHAWAR: Taliban militants resurfaced in parts of the Buner district during the last several days, carrying out armed patrol on roads besides establishing a checkpoint in Pacha Killay, locals told The News on Friday.

The reports about the reappearance of the militants emanated from the district at a time when the people, displaced by the Taliban arrival and the subsequent military operation, are returning to their homes.

“My brother had gone back to his home after the start of the IDPs’ return, but the situation there was still precarious and the Taliban were active, which forced him to leave Buner again,” a resident of a village near Pir Baba said, requesting anonymity.

Locals said the militants had infested numerous parts of the Buner district. “The Taliban arrived in great numbers to Kalpani, which is a densely populated area, and Chagharzai. They terrified the people when they brazenly carried out armed patrol on a four-kilometre strip on the Kalpani-Chagharzai Road a couple of days back,” another resident of Buner, who also requested not to be identified, said.

He contended that during the operation, the Taliban militants had suffered meagre casualties and their numerical strength remained intact. The displaced people coming back, he apprehended, would not be safe there and they could migrate again. “They are moving back to the district, because they could not pass time in camps. They just want to be at their homes in this scorching heat and unfavourable conditions,” he argued.

The locals from Pacha Killay said the militants had established a checkpoint at a stream between Pacha Killay and Balo Khan a few days back, where they checked the people to single out government officials or their opponents.