Number of displaced persons hits 3.4 million mark in Pak

Peshawar, May 30 (ANI): The number of people who have been forced to migrate from different region of the North West Frontier Province (NWFP) due to the military operation has now touched the three million mark.

Addressing a press conference here, NWFP information minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain said that the number of internally displaced persons (IDPs) was now over 3.4 million.

2.8 million people out of the 3.4 million rendered homeless due to the military operation are from Malakand division alone, Hussain added.

He claimed that the terror network prevailing in the region has been dismantled by the security forces, and the Taliban has been pushed back to a great extent.

Hussain vowed that the extremists would be pursued till their defeat or surrender, The Dawn reports.

Earlier, the Pakistan Army claimed that it has pushed the Taliban out of Bahrain and Peochar village in the Swat Valley, killing at least 28 insurgents including a top commander Khush Mir Khan alias Abu Huzaifa in the process.

Security forces have arrested seven Taliban from different areas of the valley.

Five soldiers and two civilians have also been injured in the operation, a statement issued by the ISPR said.

Security personnel have also discovered a huge cache of arms and ammunition and rations stolen from NGOs from four tunnels in the region.

The Army has claimed that it has killed more than 1,200 Taliban in the operation since it was launched last month, and it has also lost about 80 of troops.

Meanwhile, troops continued their cordon-and-search operation in Mingora, and have reportedly established their control over Aman Kot. (ANI)