The remote Shawal valley in North Waziristan tribal region has long been known as a haven for al Qaeda militants and their allies. Standing on one of the highest summits in the pine-dotted valley.
Pakistani military officials say that Shawal no longer offers sanctuary to militants after security forces gained a foothold in the area last year.
"We have set up our posts at almost every kilometer and a half," Brigadier Imtiaz Wyne, military commander in Shawal, said as two of his soldiers sat in a post keeping a watchful eye on the unmarked border with Afghanistan.
"I have now almost full control over the area," he told journalists who made a brief weekend visit to the area arranged by the military.
Shawal is a beautiful upland valley, with forests and meadows where tribesmen graze their flocks in summer. The valley, at about 1,300 metres (4,000 feet), is criss-crossed by ravines and ridges soaring up to 3,400 metres.
While hardly any signs of habitation could be seen on Kundi Garh, one of the highest summits overlooking the valley, officials said many militants, including Arabs, Central Asians and Chechens fleeing army operations in neighbouring South Waziristan had taken refuge in the valley's forests.
"This was a major sanctuary for the militants," an intelligence official said.
But Wyne said the army had launched up to 10 operations in Shawal since it secured the area over the past year. "Shawal is now almost clear of miscreants," he told Reuters. But despite the military's claims, clashes between security forces and militants go on unabated in rugged Waziristan.said.
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