PIR BABA, PAKISTAN REPORTED FROM NEW DELHI — Although recent headlines suggest that the Taliban has left Buner district, only 60 miles from the Pakistani capital, the facts Saturday told another story.
Throughout the day, militants in black turbans with cloths over their faces could be seen brandishing automatic weapons in vehicles around the bazaars and on the main roads. Their stereos blared religious songs, and their presence was particularly evident at strategic locations such as key intersections.
Residents of Buner district were reluctant to discuss the militants' presence, but most appeared to be on edge. The news of school bombings and morality campaigns by Taliban militants in the neighboring Swat Valley and the beheading of police officers and politicians critical of their rule there are well known.
Buner has seen an influx of Taliban fighters from Swat who are looking to expand their territory. However, the power grab, coming just days after Pakistan's central government recognized the militants' right to enforce Sharia, or Islamic law, in Swat, appeared to have backfired somewhat -- for the time being.
On Friday, the army, the president's office, the prime minister, the state government and social critics in fractious Pakistan all warned the Taliban to back off or face a military confrontation and possible dissolution of the Swat deal. Friday night, Taliban militants made a big show for the TV cameras of folding up camp and heading back to the Swat Valley.
Some analysts urged the government to make a steady and strong response to militancy.
"Unless there's a consistent show of resolve," said Ayaz Amir, a lawmaker and commentator, "the Taliban will keep making problems and moving into areas in whatever direction they can."
Underscoring the tragic cost of violence in the area, 12 children were killed Saturday when a bomb they mistook for a toy exploded in a residential compound in the nearby Lower Dir district.
"Seven of the children belonged to the same family. Five of them are girls," police official Said Zaman told Reuters news agency.
In Buner, residents say the Taliban militants still appear relatively well entrenched, evidenced not only by their high-visibility patrols, but also by their encampment in private homes, a school and mosques.
For their headquarters, they've taken over a well-furnished two-story bungalow formerly inhabited by a community leader. Police and paramilitary soldiers have locked themselves in police stations across the district.
