Fazlullah can’t escape now: Rehman Malik

[LahoreEstate]

* Security forces closing in on Mangal Bagh

By Tahir Niaz

ISLAMABAD: Taliban chief Fazlullah is surrounded and cannot escape the armed forces, Interior Minister Rehman Malik said on Sunday.

He told reporters after a meeting with a jirga from FATA that Fazlullah would be captured soon, adding security forces did not want to kill “100 innocents to capture one man”. He said the security forces were also closing in on Mangal Bagh, adding the nation was tired of the terrorist leader’s “bullying tactics”. He also appealed to the khasadars who had abandoned their posts under threat from Bagh to resume their duties.

Malik said seven terrorists from Maldives had been arrested from the Tribal Areas, adding cases would be filed against Muslim Khan under the anti-terrorism laws. Discussing Balochistan, he said Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani would announce a package for the province soon. He claimed foreign forces were exploiting the situation in the region. He said President Asif Ali Zardari and the premier had approved funding for the development of FATA, including new reconstruction opportunity zones (RoZs), to provide employment opportunities for residents of the region. He said $1 billion in investment was also being utilised in FATA.

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp...2009_pg1_7