Militants seize 120 police, soldiers in Pakistan

http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5goT57fbYfTTI3lnZ3GZvujrK3uNQ

Militants seize 120 police, soldiers in Pakistan
3 hours ago

MATTA, Pakistan (AFP) — Islamic militants took 120 police and paramilitary soldiers hostage overnight in northwest Pakistan but released them Saturday after disarming them, a rebel spokesman said.

The men were seized in the town of Matta in the scenic Swat valley in Northwest Frontier Province after militants besieged their post late Friday.

"Around 120 policemen and paramilitary soldiers surrendered after they were surrounded," spokesman Sirajuddin said.

"We released them on Saturday because they agreed to return to their homes and not to fight with Muslim brothers," the spokesman, who goes by one name only, told

and Musharraf may have declared a state of emergency.

I just read about this yesterday, thought your link was the same story actually, but the report earlier this week told of only 48 paramilitary troops being paraded thru the town of Charabagh, shown off to a group of journalists by their captors and later freed. Sounded like some stunt to me, especially since Rice has been admonishing that little dictator about "continuing the move to democracy", with him chomping at the bit to get out the guns. Your story explains more about how the soldiers were released. In two separate towns of the Swat Valley.

Musharraf has been itching to call martial law, looks like it just happened.

so if the general were so concerned about rising militancy, shouldn't the stations run by such clerics be the first he would shut down?

Also, today some 211 more Pakistani troops were freed by the Taliban, these are those guys who've been held prisoner since summer, and apparently some sort of prisoner-exchange happened.

I don't see Musharraf lasting much longer...he's so worried about all those "activist judges" that he heaps barbed-wire and stations troops surrounding the court, while at the exact same time he's quick losing control in the mountains, with mass soldiers defecting and deserting and making reasonable deals with Musharraf's "enemies".

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/ISL198796.htm

"ISLAMABAD, Nov 3 (Reuters) - Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf declared a state of emergency on Saturday amid rising militant violence, state-run Pakistan Television reported, in a move that will put off elections due in January.

Pakistan Television said General Musharraf, who is also chief of army staff, had issued a provisional constitutional order declaring emergency."

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Here is a pic of the soldiers who were captured by militants in Charbagh:



Plain clothed paramilitary troops, who are held captive by supporters of cleric Maulana Fazlullah sit in a room in Charbagh, a Taliban stronghold, near Mingora, the main town of Pakistan's Swat valley, close to Pakistan's lawless tribal belt bordering Afghanistan November 2, 2007. The firebrand pro-Taliban cleric on Friday called for the withdrawal of troops from Pakistan's volatile northwest region to open the way for negotiations to end days of fighting. REUTERS/Adil Khan (PAKISTAN)

(Edited to add the story becomes clearer):

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/ISL200447.htm

"Speculation has been rife that U.S. ally Musharraf, who is awaiting a Supreme Court ruling on whether he was eligible to run for re-election last month while still army chief, might impose emergency rule or martial law. Militant-related violence has surged in the country."