Pakistan: The war within

Pakistani commandoes were airdropped to take back Dagar, Buner's main town, just 100 kilometres from Islamabad.

It's an all-out offensive: Warplanes and heavy artillery continue to bombard Taliban militants in Dagar and in Dir to halt their advance.

On Wednesday, the commandos secured the town.

The offensive called "black thunder" is being seen as the direct result of intense US pressure.

President Asif Ali Zardari is to meet Barack Obama in the White House next week and needs to show his government is in control.

An emergency aid package of up to one bilion dollars hinges on driving the Taliban back.

Says Rahman Malik, Pakistan's interior minister: "The NWFP government did really well. They gave Taliban a chance to establish peace. We accepted their demands, gave them Nizam-e-Adl. After all these steps, it was their responsibility to establish peace in the area. They want to rule the area at gunpoint."

But, the government admits the operation is far from over in Buner.

Military spokesperson Major General Athar Abbas says about 500 militants are still there.

The forces are trying to drive the Taliban back into the Swat Valley, where the trouble began, under the garb of a shaky peace pact struck between the Pak government and the Taliban in February.

The pact allowed the Taliban to impose Sharia or a form of Islamic law in return for laying down of arms.

But, instead of doing that the Taliban started to advance into neighbouring districts, consolidating their position.

The Taliban have since suspended talks and are threatening to strike back at security forces.

A human rights group has estimated that over 30,000 people have been displaced and there is no official word on how many civilians have been killed.

The question now  is whether the Taliban will retreat, or simply re-group and hit back at the state.