Pakistan's interior ministry chief Rehman Malik said Friday that over 460 militants and 22 soldiers have been killed in more than a week of fighting in Bajaur tribal area bordering Afghanistan. More than 3,000 armed militants, most of them foreigners, are involved in the clashes in the troubled Bajaur tribal region, prime minister's advisor on interior told a Press conference. "Extremists wanted to establish their hold in Bajaur and the government had to take action," he said in Peshawar, the capital of North West Frontier Province. "Until today 462 militants have been killed in Bajaur and a similar number have been injured. Twenty-two troops have been killed and some are missing in action," Malik said. The "major portion" of the militants were foreigners, Malik said, adding that they included "Afghans, Chechens, Yemenis and Afro-Asians." Provincial governor Owais Ghani said that around 219,000 people have been displaced from Bajaur, adding that the provincial government had set up nine camps to provide them shelter, food and medicines. Separately, Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said in Islamabad the operation in Bajaur tribal area will continue till the militants have been flushed out. |