Seized Pakistani policemen freed

05/02/2009| IslamWeb

Thirty Pakistani policemen, seized by suspected Taliban fighters in the restive Swat Valley, have been freed, officials say.

 

The AFP news agency quoted a security official as saying that the policemen were freed on Wednesday on the condition that they would quit their jobs.

 

The policemen were captured a day earlier after Taliban fighters laid siege to a police station.

 

"They have given assurances to the Taliban that they would quit their jobs and will take no part in any activity against the Taliban," the senior security official said.

 

A Taliban spokesman confirmed that the kidnapped security men had been released under "certain conditions". He, however, gave no other details.

 

The Taliban fighters blew up the police office and captured the policemen after a day-long fight, Dilawar Khan, a regional police commander, said.

 

Four paramilitary and police officers were wounded in the clashes around the police station, a Pakistani intelligence official said.

 

The capture of the policemen came amid continuing clashes between government forces and pro-Taliban tribal fighters in the Swat Valley.

 

The violence has forced thousands of people living in the troubled region to flee their homes.

 

 

Deadly confrontation

 

The Pakistani government has carried out a series of military operations against Taliban-linked fighters in the region in recent months.

 

PHOTO CAPTION

 

Displaced villagers people arrive in a secure area of the troubled Swat valley in Pakistan.

 

Al-Jazeera