Taliban down, but far from out in Swat: BBC report

London, May.2 (ANI): Saturday's suicide blast in a market place in Mingora, in which four people were killed and at least 20 injured, and the recent target killings in the region has once again put a question mark over the Pakistan Army's claims about flushing out the Taliban and other extremist groups from the Swat Valley and other parts of the North West Frontier Province.

The Pakistan Army had marched into Buner in April 2009 , and soon took control of most of the region, forcing the Taliban to flee.

Over two million people were affected by the offensive and had to be relocated, and by August, the military declared the region safe urging people to come back.

There was a brief lull in violence that followed the military operation. However, the recent killing of three local leaders is an indication that the Taliban is slowly regrouping once again.

"The Taliban may be down, but they are far from out. The fact that the army has said 'no' to any new operations has come as a shot in their arm. All they have to do is lie low for the next six months," said the BBC's Syed Shoaib Hasan, who has been covering military's action in the region since it started last year.

Hasan also noted that despite being on the back foot, the Taliban continues to maintain its strongholds in tribal areas in other parts of north-west Pakistan.

The fact that Pakistan Army has failed to nab or kill Swat Taliban chief Maulana Fazlullah is testimony to that fact. (ANI)