Pakistan Wages Assault on Taliban

Violence erupted this weekend in a typically peaceful region of Pakistan after the country’s army launched one of the most extensive recent offensives against the Taliban. Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani called the situation a “war of the country’s survival” and hundreds of thousands of citizens have been forced to flee for their safety. A medical student treating the wounded told the Sunday Times: “The electricity has been suspended for a week. The health situation is very bad; there are only three doctors in the main district hospital. Please keep praying for us.” The army’s move was to counteract the Taliban’s recent progress closer to the capital, Islamabad.