Fazlullah declares unilateral ceasefire in Swat, claims Jirga chief

Peshawar, Oct 12 : The security forces and the Taliban have made conflicting claims about casualties during clashes in the troubled Swat Valley, as the chief of the Kanju Amn Jirga claimed that Maulana Fazlullah has announced a unilateral ceasefire.

The chief of the Kanju Amn Jirga, Inamur Rehman, has claimed that he had met Fazlullah at an unknown place and he had announced a unilateral ceasefire for one or two months.

The Jirga headed by Inam had already convinced the Taliban militants to leave Koza Bandai area. Encouraged by his success in Koza Bandai, he has launched unflagging efforts to bring peace to the valley through peaceful means and to play the role of a negotiator between the forces and Fazlullah.

On Saturday, he claimed that he had requested Fazlullah to announce a ceasefire, which the latter accepted after consulting his Shura.

Inam and his other Jirga members would now meet military officials to convince them reciprocate Fazlullah's initiative to create an atmosphere for a peaceful solution to the militancy in Swat.

However, the military sources said that the Jirga members had neither met them nor communicated to them the offer of terrorists.

Meanwhile, the security forces were conducting search operations in Damghar Dherai in Kabal when a bomb planted by the militants exploded on Saturday, wounding three police officials and three Army personnel. However, the ISPR said three cops and only one Army official was wounded.

After the blast, the security forces and the Taliban clashed in which several militants were killed and wounded. The killed Taliban included two commanders, Nasir, identified as a nephew of Fazlullah, and Abdul Kabir.

The spokesman for the Taliban, Muslim Khan, claimed they had killed 21 security personnel during clashes in the valley on Saturday. He said that 10 each were killed in Damgha and Guljaba and one person in Sarsenai, Kabal.

However, the ISPR termed the claim by the militants as baseless and unsupported.

The News quoted Muslim Khan as claiming that they had picked up Frontier Corps soldier, Raj Wali, who could be killed anytime.

ANI