Pakistan's military said Friday soldiers had cleared another militant stronghold and killed 28 militants over the last 24 hours of its offensive against the Taleban in the northwest district of Swat. “Security forces continued with cordon and search operation and successfully cleared the stronghold of miscreants at Peochar village,” the military said in a statement providing no further details. Commandos were this month flown into Peochar valley, a stronghold of Maulana Fazlullah who has led a Taleban uprising to enforce Shariah law in Swat, but it was not immediately clear how much of the area remained under militant control. The military said security forces recovered 12 “UN registered vehicles” and destroyed militant hideouts, including an Islamic seminary. Meanwhile, Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari paid a rare visit Friday to some of the 2.4 million people displaced by a military offensive against the Taleban, promising they would soon return home. “Keep your morale high and face the difficulties with courage,” said Zardari, addressing thousands of families who took refuge in Jalozai camp, in the northwest Swabi district that once housed Afghan refugees. “I can imagine your feelings because my children have also suffered and they have also been separated from their mother,” said Zardari, referring to the assassination of his wife, former premier Benazir Bhutto, in December 2007. “You are not alone at this hour of tribulation. The entire Pakistani nation is with you. The government is with you and the Pakistan army is with you,” said the president, who is suffering from rock-bottom approval ratings.
