An emboldened Taliban have dug up bunkers and trenches to tighten their hold on Buner district, adjoining Swat Valley, which they forcibly occupied in recent days.
An emboldened Taliban have dug up bunkers and trenches to tighten their hold on Buner district, adjoining Swat Valley, which they forcibly occupied in recent days.
Armed Taliban militants have set up checkpoints and are patrolling markets, villages and towns in the district, located just 100 km from Islamabad, media reports said on Wednesday.
Militants armed with advanced weapons are now reportedly advancing towards Swabi, Malakand and Mardan, the hometown of NWFP Chief Minister Amir Haider Khan Hoti.
The militants, who sneaked into Buner on April 4, have been on a 'looting spree' for the past five days. They have robbed government and NGO offices of vehicles, computers, generators, and food and nutrition packets, the Dawn newspaper reported.
Leading politicians, businessmen, NGO officials and influential persons who played a role in raising a 'lashkar' or tribal militia against the Taliban have been forced to flee Buner to other areas.
Buner was earlier a stronghold of the secular Awami National Party that rules the NWFP.
The Taliban now control almost all 'tehsils' of Buner and law enforcement personnel are "confined to police stations and camps", the newspaper reported.
The militants have also dug trenches and set up bunkers on heights in strategic towns in Buner. The fighters led by commander Fateh Mohammad are asking people, especially youngsters, to join them in their campaign to enforce Shariah.
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