| NWFP Information Minister Mian Iftikhar on Monday warned the Taliban of military action if they did not leave Buner district. "Leave Buner or face action," the minister said while addressing a news conference in Timergara where new Malakand Commissioner Fazal Rahim Khattak was also present. The minister said the provincial government had received reports of presence of "foreign militants" in Buner, where some of the Taliban had been speaking languages the locals could not understand. The foreigners are likely Uzbeks, Chechens or Arabs. The minister said there was no military operation going on in Lower Dir, the state-run APP reported, adding that the clashes there were "retaliation to the attack by miscreants on the security forces". The armed forces were present in Malakand division "only to maintain peace and harmony", the news agency quoted him as telling the reporters. |