Pak vows to flush out Taliban from Swat valley

Pak vows to flush out Taliban from Swat valley
Rezaul H Lashkar Islamabad, Jan 30 (PTI) Conceding that the Taliban militants in the country could make their way to the federal capital if they are not stopped in the Swat valley, Pakistan has vowed to flush them out from the restive region."Get out of Swat, we are after you and we will get you, as the armed forces and secret agencies are now re-energised to complete the task," Interior Ministry chief Rehman Malik said while winding up a debate in the Senate or upper house of parliament."If (the Taliban are) not stopped in Swat, tomorrow they would be in Hazara and then one fine morning in Islamabad," he said during the debate last night.Malik called on the militants to lay down their arms and desist from harming Pakistan and its people in the name of Islam.Pakistan is under pressure from the US to act against militants and terror groups operating on its soil.Even as Malik spoke in the Senate, troops backed by gunship helicopters and artillery launched a fresh offensive against militant positions in the Swat valley.However, members of both treasury and opposition benches accused the government of lacking seriousness in dealing with the situation in the scenic valley that was once a popular tourist destination.The Taliban will be flushed out of Swat in a few weeks as the government's new policy for the region was delivering, Malik said.He said the government had been following the new policy for the past five days, but did not spell out details. PTI