Islamabad, September 12
Pakistani army in a major operation killed 34 militants in the restive north-western region as they launched a new big manhunt to nab the Taliban top commander in Swat, Maulana Fazlullah, who is reported to be badly injured.

Continuing their sweep in the Swat region, the troops also captured 18 militants while 12 more surrendered, a statement issued by the military said.

It said a soldier had been killed in fresh fighting which erupted in the scenic valley which has been under a military campaign for the past five months.

Maintaining an intensity in their operations, troops surrounded Manglor and Malam Jabba areas in Swat in their search for Fazlullah, who has been on the run since the army launched operations against the Taliban in May.

The manhunt for Fazlullah known also as Mullah FM was started by the army apparently buoyed by their success in capturing two top Taliban commanders yesterday, including the outfits spokesman Muslim Khan.

After the capture of number of Taliban commanders, the army claimed that total rout was facing the terrorists, even as militants acknowledged that their outfit had been weakened.

The Pakistan army has rejected the allegation of the Taliban that it tricked the Taliban’s spokesman, Muslim Khan, and his four other colleagues on pretext of peace negotiations.

“There can be no talks with terrorists,” army spokesman Major Gen Athar Abbasi said, while referring to the statement by Salman, an acting spokesman for the Taliban.

Salman released to the media a tape recording purported to be that of Swat’s Taliban chief Maulana Fazlullah in which he accused the Pakistan army of arresting his spokesman Muslim Khan and four members of Shura (advisory council) of the Taliban after inviting them for peace negotiations.

In the message, Fazlullah conceded that his organisation had been weakened as a result of the army operation, but vowed to continue fighting for the cause of the enforcement of Islamic Shariah (code) in the region and elsewhere.

“The Taliban movement is presently in a state of illness. When you are ill, your activities are curtailed. That is what has happened to the Taliban organisation, but it will bounce back,” Fazlullah claimed.

Fazlullah spoke hurriedly in Pashto in his recorded message and at times, it was difficult to understand his words. It wasn’t easy to tell that the voice indeed was of Fazlullah even though it largely sounded familiar.

Fazlullah mentioned the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) founder, Baitullah Mehsud, in his message and stressed that all Pakistani Taliban wished to die like him.

He said the Taliban in Swat and Malakand would continue their struggle for the enforcement of real Shariah and offer every sacrifice to achieve this goal.

According to Maulana Fazlullah, the Taliban still possessed “Fidayee” (suidie volunteers) power and those in doubt should ask Russia, the US and Nato about the Taliban prowess.

The whereabouts of Fazlullah remain unknown. The army has been claiming that he was wounded in an earlier military action.

There have also been reports that he was under siege in a mountainous area in Swat and could no longer escape to some other place.

Fazlullah made it clear that he and his men had lost trust in the Pakistan army after it allegedly invited his organisation for peace talks and arrested the five negotiators.

He said a need may arise again for the government and the military to talk to the Taliban, but the Swat Taliban had decided once and for all not to hold any negotiations with the rulers.

Washington, September 12
Cranking up pressure on Pakistan, the Obama administration today asked it to bring to justice the perpetrators of the Mumbai attacks.

The US nudge came a day after Home Minister P Chidambaram did some hard talk, telling Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and other top security officials that Pakistan was dilly-dallying in prosecuting those responsible for the 26/11 carnage, including the mastermind Hafiz Mohd Saeed.

“We would hope that the Pakistani authorities will bring the perpetrators of the attacks to justice,” Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs, PJ Crowley, said.

“Among the topics discussed were ongoing cooperation on terrorism, following up on the Mumbai attacks and deepening our cooperation between the two countries,” Crowley said when asked about the meeting between Clinton and Chidambaram.Chidambaram gave to the US officials three lists of terrorists and gangsters, including 60 Pakistanis, killed by the Indian security forces in various encounters in different parts of the country and another 10 arrested in the past year, a top government official said.

Chidambaram had compiled the lists before leaving for the US and shared it with the American officials. — PTI

Dhaka, September 12
Bangladesh says it will not hand over Indian separatist leader Anup Chetia, who served a jail term here for entering the country with fake documents, but stressed it would not allow its territory to be used by militants.

Back from her visit to India, Bangladesh Foreign Minister Dipu Moni told reporters yesterday that Chetia, a top leader of the United Liberation of Asom (ULFA), had already completed his sentence. Therefore, he was not covered by the bilateral agreement under which Indians sentenced in Bangladesh could finish their jail term in India and vice versa, The Daily Star newspaper said.

Chetia is wanted for organising insurgent operations in Assam. “Anup Chetia has already finished his jail term and will not come under the purview of the agreement,” Moni told reporters.

Chetia was caught in Bangladesh in 1997. After he finished his jail term, a local human rights body campaigned against his repatriation and the government of then prime minister Khaleda Zia stayed the process.

India accuses Bangladesh of hosting many top ULFA leaders, as also those of other militant bodies in the Indian northeast, many of whom have settled down to do business and raise families. — IANS

Toronto, September 12
A 33-year-old Sikh youth was shot dead in the Indians-dominated city of Brampton here. Devinder Singh Gill was found injured after being shot at on early Friday morning, the police said.

He was taken to a hospital where he succumbed to his injuries, local daily the Toronto Star reported.

The shooting reportedly occurred after an altercation at a gathering at the house.

“We do not have a suspect description, and we are not even sure how many people we are looking for,” Constable Adam Minnion said.

No one has been arrested so far in the case and the weapon used to commit the crime has also not been seized. — PTI

Baghdad, September 12
Muntazer al-Zaidi, the Iraqi reporter who shot to fame when he threw his shoes at the then US president George W Bush, is set to be released from jail on Monday, his lawyer said today. “I do not think there are any obstacles to his being freed, and I have great hope that he will be released on Monday,” Dia al-Saadi said.

The “defence team has presented a petition for (Zaidi’s) release to the Iraqi central criminal court, which has handed an order for his release to the prison administration. All the legal conditions have been fulfilled.”

A little-known reporter for a small, privately owned television channel, Zaidi stunned the world on December 14 when he hurled his footwear at Bush, who was on a farewell visit to the country he ordered to be invaded and occupied six years ago. — AFP