Istanbul Hosts Meeting For Afghanistan And Pakistan: Swat Emergency Talks

19 May 2009

Turkish province of Istanbul is hosting a meeting on Afghanistan and Pakistan that is being attended by representatives from 22 countries.

Officials from the European Union (EU) and United Nations (UN) are also participating in the Istanbul meeting, which happens to be the third meeting attended by representatives from 22 countries on Afghanistan and Pakistan.

U.S.'s Special Envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan Richard Holbrooke is among the participants at the Istanbul meeting.

The first meeting of the 22 countries took place in Munich, Germany while the second one took place at Tokyo, Japan.

The meetings on Afghanistan and Pakistan take place to discuss problems in the region and provide assistance to the region.

Pakistan Holds Swat Emergency Talks

Pakistan's prime minister has gathered political parties for emergency talks on the situation in the northwest, where security forces have entered two Taliban-held towns.

Yusuf Raza Gilani said the army would stay in the Swat valley until the more than one million displaced residents can return safely.

"The operation against the terrorists is progressing very successfully and those who destroyed the peace of the nation are fleeing in disguise," Gilani said in his opening address to the all-parties conference on Monday.

Al Jazeera's Mike Hanna, reporting from Islamabad, said representatives of more than 40 national and religious parties were being briefed on the ongoing offensive in the Swat valley.

"What is being discussed too is a national policy for Pakistan in terms of its counter-terrorism strategy," he said.

"The basis of the discussion is how to form a national action campaign based on Pakistani sovereignty. In other words, the assistance of no outside force will be used countering the threats to the country from within."

'Crushing the Taliban'

Hanna said the government was not only focused on "crushing the Pakistani Taliban completely".

"They also wish to isolate them politically and remove all forms of popular support to drain the water in which groups like this operate."

The army said on Sunday it was battling fighters on the outskirts of Mingora, the main town in the area, and had entered two other Taliban-held towns.

Muslim Khan, a Swat Taliban spokesman, told The Associated Press news agency that the fighters were prepared for any onslaught.

"We will fight until the last breath for the enforcement of Islamic law," he said.

"We consider ourselves on the right path."

About 15,000 members of the security forces are fighting between 4,000 and 5,000 Taliban fighters in Swat, according to the military.

The government has said about 1,000 Taliban fighters have been killed during the 23-day offensive.

The government on Sunday urged civilians to leave areas where the fighting was ongoing.

The United Nations refugee agency has registered 1.17 million people displaced by the fighting in the Swat area since May 2, and has called for a massive international response to the humanitarian crisis.

The UN said only about 18 per cent of the displaced were staying in the 12 camps set up by the authorities, while the rest were staying with friends, relatives, in rented accommodation or in "spontaneous settlements" that were springing up.

EsinIslam.Com