| The government on Tuesday told the National Assembly Standing Committee on Defence that security forces had achieved "major successes" in the ongoing military operation in Swat and Malakand, and the Taliban's second and third tier leadership had been eliminated. The closed-door meeting of the standing committee -- presided over by Azra Fazal Puchecho -- was held to discuss the military operation in Malakand. Interior Secretary Kamal Shah briefed the committee members on the government's counter-terrorism policy. The committee has directed the Interior Ministry to issue a white paper on the details of the Swat operation and implications of the war on terror to assess the fallout of those policies. The chairwoman of the committee believes that the white paper would help review the future strategy for dealing with terrorism. Sources privy to the meeting said the interior secretary told the committee the military operation was "headed towards its logical end". |