Pakistan sends troops to area grabbed by Taliban

Pakistani authorities on Thursday deployed paramilitary troops to a district, only 96 kilometers (60 miles) from the capital, where Taliban militants appeared to be consolidating control after this week's land-grab.Militants locked up courthouses and seized court documents in the district of Buner, said police Superintendent Arsala Khan.However, a highly placed Buner official said the judges left voluntarily after meeting with Taliban leaders.A van carrying Frontier Corps paramilitary troops through the district came under fire Thursday. One police official was killed and another wounded, authorities said.The troops were sent to protect civilians and properties, said Maj. Gen Athar Abbas, spokesman for Pakistan's military.He said the government was monitoring the situation closely, and talks were under way among community elders, the civilian administration and the Taliban."Taliban is only in control of 25 percent of Buner district," Abbas said. "The Taliban will either move out or they'll be thrown out, one way or another."The militant group's leaders met with community elders and the civilian administration Thursday and agreed that its members will not move about openly with guns nor will they disturb police, courts, schools, hospitals or non-governmental organizations.The takeover of Buner brings the Taliban closer to the capital, Islamabad, than it has been since the insurgency started.The Taliban commander in Buner, Mowlana Mohammed Khalil, gave a statement before Pakistani television cameras Wednesday, appearing with his face hidden behind a cloth mask."We came here only to preach Islam," Khalil said. He added that his fighters were carrying weapons only because they were an important symbol for Muslims.The militants said they took control of the Buner district to ensure that Islamic law, or sharia, was properly imposed. The Pakistani government called the advance into the district a breach of a recently signed peace agreement.Residents of Buner said the militants had set up checkpoints and were patrolling streets throughout the district.