MARDAN: The military operation in Swat, Dir and Malakand will be taken through its logical end and can be extended to other troubled areas of the province and Federally Administered Tribal Areas to restore the government’s writ.This was stated by Interior Minister Rehman Malik at a press conference he addressed in the office of Mardan Commissioner Mohammad Khalid Khan Umarzai after visiting camps of the displaced people here on Sunday.

Mr Malik said that over 1,000 suspected militants had been killed in the Swat offensive so far and added that the number of displaced people stood at 1.1 million.

Answering a question, he said the military operation was progressing according to government’s expectations. He said efforts would be made to complete the operation soon and help the displaced people to return to their homes with honour and dignity.

He said that Dir and Buner districts had been cleared of militants. However, there were some ‘pockets’ in Swat where the Taliban were creating problems for security forces.

He said he was confident that the armed forces would flush the militants out and destroy their bunkers and hideouts in the region.

He said that Khwazakhela tehsil of Swat had been secured. He said that people belonging to the cleared areas could return to their homes, adding that they would be provided security and transport.

About calls made by some parties and groups to wind up the operation, Mr Malik said that militants had left no room for talks. They repeatedly broke promises, violated the peace accords and pursued their agenda of subjugating the region. He said the operation was launched as the last option and expressed the hope that the fighting would end soon.

Mr Malik urged the people of Swat and other troubled areas to leave during curfew breaks for the sake of their safety.

Answering a question, he said that the hunt for Maulana Fazlullah and his lieutenants was continuing and leaders and commanders of the Taliban who had killed innocent citizens would not be spared. He said people would hear good news in this regard.

He said the Taliban were the enemies of Pakistan and Islam and the cancer of Talibanisation had spread during the regime of Gen (retd) Pervez Musharraf. He said it would definitely take some time to stamp out militancy from the troubled areas.

Mr Malik said that the militants had received guerilla training in camps which had been demolished by security forces.

He said that ‘enemies’ were providing huge amounts of money to the Taliban to destabilise Pakistan, adding that one suicide bombing mission involved two million to two-and-a-half million rupees.

The minister visited the Sheikh Yaseen and Sheikh Shahzad camps and met a number of displaced people from Swat, Dir and Buner and heard their complaints.