Pakistan security forces ask Taliban flighters to surrender

Security forces in northwest Pakistan today asked wanted Taliban fighters in the Swat valley to surrender before the upcoming Eid-ul-Fitr festival or be prepared to face the consequences.

The security forces drew up a list of 19 wanted and absconding militants from Kanju sub-division of the restive Swat district of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province and put it on display at conspicuous places in the region.

The militants were warned to surrender before Eid-ul-Fitr, which will be celebrated later this week. If they failed to do so, their homes would be demolished and legal proceedings initiated against them, the posters said.

The posters listing the wanted militants carried the signature of a top army official based in Swat.

Among the wanted militants named in the list are Yaqub Khan, Hussain Khan, Sajid Khan, Zafar Ali, Rehman Shah, Naseeb Rawan, Farman Ali and Yusaf Khan.

In the past too, security forces have issued lists of wanted militants and many of these rebels surrendered to the authorities in Swat.

The civilian government ordered the army to launch operations against the Taliban in Swat last year after militants violated a peace deal and extended their influence to two districts located just 100 from Islamabad.

The army has claimed it killed or captured hundreds of militants.

The writ of the government was non-existent in Swat after Taliban fighters led by radical cleric Maulana Fazlullah set up a parallel administration.

The militants executed dozens of people for violating their diktats. The army failed to capture most of the top militant leadership in Swat and Fazlullah fled to Afghanistan.