Taliban agrees to withdraw from Buner in NWFP

Peshawar, Apr.24 (ANI): The Taliban has decided to withdraw from the Buner district of the North West Frontier Province (NWFP) following orders from its chief Mullah Fazlullah, the Dawn reported the Commissioner of Malakand Division, as saying.

"Our leader has ordered that Taliban should immediately be called back from Buner," Taliban spokeperson Muslim Khan told an international news agency.

Earlier, eight platoons of paramilitary troops were dispatched to the district to counter the heavy infiltration of the Taliban and to safe guard government buildings and bridges, which the government feared the insurgents could attack.

The Taliban militants, who had sneaked into the Gokand valley of Buner earlier this month, had established their headquarters in the bungalow of a local businessman Syed Ahmed Khan (alias Fateh Khan) in Sultanwas.

They patrolled the streets and roads of the district with no signs of law-enforcement personnel. (ANI)