Troops were closing in on Mingora capital of Swat facing stiff resistance within six kilometres of the town, an army spokesman said on Thursday, claiming to have killed a total of 54 militants during fighting in various sectors of the valley.

Maj Gen Athar Abbas said nine soldiers were killed and 14 injured during past 24 hours. Army chief Gen Ashfaq Pervez Kayani toured the frontlines in Swat, his first to the war zone since the operation was launched. He met troops to discuss progress of the operation and reiterated instructions to take all possible care to avoid collateral damage.

“The army chief reaffirmed resolve to defeat the extremists,” General Abbas said while asserting that significant successes had been achieved in the operation.

He said commando troops had surrounded militant leader Maulana Fazlullah’s stronghold Poechar from all directions and conducting intense search and destroy operation. The militants tried to attack army’s main position in the Shangla area but were beaten back with many of casualties.

He said fierce fighting was continuing at Uddegram, six kilometres from Mingora. Taliban militants were holding hostage nearly 1,50,000 citizens.

General Abbas debunked Taliban spokesman Muslim Khan’s statement that only 12 militants had been killed so far. “We have been giving very conservative figures that do not include a large number killed in hide-outs in mountains and caves,” he said.

General Abbas also rubbished as “factually incorrect, misplaced and mischievous” a BBC report that the Talian control 38 per cent of the North West Frontier Province (NWFP). He said while the provincial government was in full control of the entire settled area of the NWFP, the militants had not been able to overrun even a single headquarter in the tribal areas.

Abbas also repudiated reports that the US and other NATO forces are helping army operation in Swat region. “No foreign troops or experts are helping Pakistan Army in the planning or execution of the Swat operation,” he said, adding that “all resources being used in Swat are ours”. 

As it tackles terrorists on its soil, Pakistan must also take on groups that target India as their actions endanger not only Pakistan but its relationships in the region, a US official said.

Speaking to media at the State Department on Wednesday, Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Richard Boucher said: "Is it important for Pakistan to stop the groups that carry out terrorism in India? Absolutely.”

He noted that there had never been any question in his mind that “the threat to Pakistan from terrorism is not just from groups that are fighting in Afghanistan or groups that are up in the tribal areas but from groups that attack India.... They have been more and more carrying out attacks that endanger Pakistan domestically and in terms of its relationships.”

Boucher maintained that there was no distinction between the terrorists operating in Pakistan. “All terrorists are bad and they all need to be stopped and eliminated,” he said.

His comments come on the heels of a trilateral meeting in Washington of the leaders of Pakistan, Afghanistan and the US. The meeting was intended in part to shape policy and plan strategy to take on the terrorist threat emanating from Pakistan and Afghanistan.

In a bid to get Pakistan to direct its troops away from its eastern border to the fight on the western frontier, US officials have been trying hard to persuade Islamabad that the existential threat it faces comes not from India but from the Taliban.

Asked whether the US had been successful in this effort, Boucher said: “What we heard from Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari and Afghan President Hamid Karzai during the course of the meetings and the public events in Washington... was a very strong commitment to stop the terrorists, to go after the groups that have been afflicting Pakistan and to really deal with this problem in a resolute manner.”

“What that means in terms of the military moves we’ll have to see. But I think the commitment is there and I think the action we are seeing on the ground supports that commitment,” he said, adding that: “It is fair to say we see an enormous threat, the urgency of the threat from the terrorist groups and that they see that as well. Our commitment is to cooperate with them as they take on this threat and we see them doing it.”

Discussing the US-India relations, Boucher said the Obama administration had not yet set out the same kind of agenda vis-a-vis India as the Bush administration because it was being “respectful” of India during the election cycle.

“This administration in the US wants to continue to work with India as a global partner,” he said.

Some of the issues Boucher predicted would dominate the US-India relations include global financial issues, international security, etc.

At a time when the Unified CPN (Maoist) Chairman and caretaker Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal has been expressing resentment against increasing foreign intervention in Nepal, Nepali Congress chief Girija Prasad Koirala on Thursday requested northern neighbour China to support the new government to be formed under the leadership of the CPN-UML.

Meeting with Chinese Ambassador to Nepal Qui Guohang, former Prime Minister Koirala had said Chinese support was necessary for the next government to make the ongoing peace process a success and draft the new constitution within stipulated timeframe, Koirala’s foreign policy adviser Suresh Chalise said.

According to Chalise, Qui expressed concern over the increasing risk of differences among the political parties, affecting the constitution-drafting and peace processes.

In response, Koirala assured that no problem would arise in these issues even though the parties were deviating in the recent time. During the half-an-hour-long meeting, the Chinese envoy also inquired about the anti-China activities, including pro-Tibet demonstrations. Only on Wednesday, Guohang was conferred by caretaker Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal.

Immediately after announcing resignation from the government, Maoists Chairman and Prime Minister Dahal had said that some foreign power centres had been increasing their activities in Nepal and tried to intervene in Nepal’s internal matters.

London, May 14
A noted Indian wildlife biologist has won the Whitley Award, considered the ‘Green Oscar’, in recognition of his work to reduce human-wildlife conflict in the Western Ghats in Karnataka.

Dr MD Madhusudan, Director of Nature Conservation Foundation - a young NGO that has grown quickly to become one of the most respected in India - received a trophy and a cash prize of £30,000 from Princess Anne at a glittering ceremony held at the Royal Geographical Society here last night.

Two other Indian conservationists received Associate Awards. Sudipto Chatterjee received £10,000 to develop an action plan to conserve wild rhododendrons in the Eastern Himalayas while Supraja Dharini received an equal amount for a community-based initiative to protect sea turtles and dolphins in Kancheepuram in Tamil Nadu.

Madhusudhan is a science graduate from the Yuvaraja College, Mysore and obtained a Master’s from the Wildlife Institute of India at Dehra Dun. Madhusudhan and his team tries to combine science with practical conservation action to resolve conflict between the wild animals and the local communities.

At grassroots level, he is working with farmers around the Bandipur Tiger Reserve on a pilot community-based conflict mitigation project. His team has also developed solar-powered electric fences to protect crops. — PTI 

Colombo, May 14
Over 2,200 Tamil civilians today braved LTTE gunfire and made a breakout from the areas held by the rebels, indicating that the collapse of Tamil Tigers could be in the offing as Sri Lankan forces pressed ahead with their offensive.

The civilians fled from the last remaining areas held by the LTTE in Waduvakkal in the Wanni region and four died and 14 were injured in firing by the rebels, a military spokesman said. The UN estimates that 50,000 persons are still trapped in the war zone.

In scenes reminiscent of the breakout of thousands of civilians in Pudhukudiyyiruppu on April 20, hundreds of people crossed lagoons to reach to safety as international aid agencies said the area was wracked by heavy fighting despite calls by US President Barack Obama and UN Security Council to stop indiscriminate shelling of civilian areas.

The lagoon, military sources said, was the frontline between the government forces and the rebels. — PTI