Pak shuts down Khyber route in fresh crackdown in Jamrud

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Tuesday closed down the Khyber pass route used by NATO forces to ferry supplies to Afghanistan as the military employed heavy artillery and gunships to flush out Taliban militants active in the area.

Eight people, including militants, were killed as Pakistani troops launched a fresh pre-dawn operation against militants in the Jamrud agency, where they have been attacking the Afghan bound NATO and US supply convoys, officers said.

Timed with the new assault, Pakistani authorities closed down the highway till all the Taliban groups are cleared from the area, they said.

"We have launched an operation against militants and armed groups in Jamrud, the gateway to the Khyber pass," the area's administrator Tariq Hayat said.

The new operation by the Pakistani forces comes after Taliban and Pushtun tribesman carried out a number of spectacular raids torching hundreds of special vehicles used to ferry supplies to NATO and US forces in Afghanistan.

"This is a giant operation and will continue until we clear the area of all militants," Hayat said, adding that the operation "could be expanded if need arises".

Eight persons, including two militants, two children and two women, were killed in shelling in Jamrud sub-district of Khyber Agency, TV channels reported.

According to estimates about 70 per cent of fuel, ration and other supplies are ferried to forces in Afghanistan through the Khyber highway which links up Peshawar to Kabul via Jalalabad.

The tribal administrator said that the operation was aimed at eliminating raids on NATO supply vehicles and to stop the spate of kidnappings for ransom in the restive tribal belt where Taliban and Al Qaeda militants are active.

Troops have seized large quantities of arms and ammunition in the raids.

While the army is undertaking an operation, a complete curfew has been imposed in the area with armed paramilitary forces patrolling the streets.

The militants had earlier also targeted supply convoys and fuel tankers along the Pakistan-Afghanistan highway in Khyber Agency.

Officers said the offensive is currently focused on Jamrud, the main town in Khyber Agency that is located on the key highway.

The operation is aimed at restoring the government's writ in the area and will continue till all militants from four groups, including the banned Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, are flushed out of the region, they said.

"Anyone who shows resistance will be dealt with sternly," Hayat told a news conference.

He said several people had been arrested and will be punished under British-era laws known as the Frontier Crimes Regulations.