Pakistan steps up offensive
Following intense U.S. pressure, Pakistan is stepping up its offensive against Taliban fighters who have spread into Buner district, about 100 km from Islamabad, despite promises to pull back. The Pakistani air force attacked suspected Taliban hideouts in Buner, amid reports of heavy fighting in nearby Lower Dir district, from which thousands of Pakistani civilians have fled. Pakistan effectively ceded control of the once-tranquil Swat Valley to the Taliban earlier this year in a peace deal that allowed sharia law to be implemented in the region if the Taliban would agree to disarm. Instead, the Taliban are using force to push their way into neighbouring districts such as Buner and Lower Dir.
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