Under intense US pressure to stop Taliban's advance towards the federal capital, Pakistani troops intensified operations against militants in the NWFP.
Under intense US pressure to stop Taliban's advance towards the federal capital, Pakistani troops intensified operations against militants in the NWFP killing over 50 of them, even as the Swat talks broker said the offensive rendered the peace accord "worthless".
Helicopter gunships pounded Taliban hideouts as security forces continued their operations for the second day on Monday in NWFP's lower Dir district, which adjoins Swat and is covered by the peace deal between radicals and the government.
As US pressure built up on Islamabad to take steps to safeguard its nuclear arsenals, president Asif Ali Zardari ruled out the possibility of his country's atomic weapons falling into the hands of Taliban.
"Pakistan's nuclear installations are in safe hands and under extra security," Zardari said in an interview to foreign media.
Zardari also called for more foreign support for 'cash-strapped' Pakistan to prevent any danger of its nuclear arsenal falling into the hands of Al-Qaeda and its allies.
Meanwhile, in another sign of mounting Western concern, British prime minister Gordon Brown was to meet Pakistani leaders, including Zardari, on Monday night.
Protesting the operations in Dir, Taliban suspended talks with the government, with Tehrik-e-Nifaz-e-Shariah Muhammadi (TNSM) spokesman Izzat Khan saying peace deal with the government was now "worthless".
Tehrik-e-Nifaz-e-Shariah Muhammadi, the group that had earlier negotiated a peace deal in Swat is holding talks with the government on the option of announcing a general amnesty for the Taliban in the Swat valley in exchange for the militants laying down arms.
The TNSM is seeking the release of 200 Taliban prisoners and is willing to issue a religious edict with top clerics asking for the disarmament of the militants, The News daily said on Monday.
The paper also said that two brigades of Pakistan Army were moved to Swat Valley to confront the militants advancing towards other districts of Malakand Division, a move denied by the military.
It said the Army brigades have been moved to conduct a "Bajaur-style operation" to eliminate the militants' top leadership and destroy their hideouts.
Taliban fighters began pulling out of Buner on Sunday after the Pakistan Army began preparing for possible operations against them.
Even as concerns remained over the advance of Taliban towards major Pakistani cities, the TNSM, headed by hardline cleric Sufi Muhammad and the NWFP government are holding negotiations to ensure the success of the peace deal and the smooth implementation of the Nizam-e-Adl Regulation, which envisages of Shariah law in Swat.
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