Army withdrawal from Pakistan's Malakand ordered: report

The Khyber Pakhtunkhawa government today gave "in principle approval" for the gradual withdrawal of army from Malakand division as peace talks between the Pakistani authorities and Taliban move forward.
In the initial stage, security forces will be withdrawn from Buner and Shangla districts in October, media reports said.
An official communique said provincial Chief Minister Pervaiz Khattak announced the withdrawal of army from Malakand division in Nowshera, the Dawn reported.
Khattak said withdrawal of army from these two districts would be followed by a phase-wise withdrawal from Upper Dir, Lower Dir and Swat where "the writ of the government has been consolidated".

Khattak said the army was deployed in the Malakand division due to increasing activities of the Pakistani Taliban in 2007.
The security forces had offered innumerable sacrifices to clear the area and restore peace and now "hundreds of displaced people are back", the report said.
The chief minister said his government wanted to resolve all issues through talks and it has been successful in maintaining the writ of the government.
The news of planned withdrawal comes just days after the All Party Meeting strongly supported Nawaz Sharif government's plan to hold talks with the banned Pakistani Taliban and other militants groups.