Military operations against Taliban militants in the northwest of the country will last several more weeks, Defence Minister Chaudry Ahmed Mukhtar said Wednesday.

"The Buner operation will finish within two to three weeks," the minister said after talks in Berlin with German Defence Minister Franz Josef Jung.

Security forces launched military offensives last month in Lower Dir and Buner, districts which neighbour Swat where militant fighters have made advances.

"We have to ensure that these guerrillas are defeated," Mukhtar told a press conference with media. "We have to eliminate al Qaeda."

� � Print� �

� � Tell friend� �

� � Top

---