Pakistani Taliban to fight until 'last breath'

The Pakistani Taliban said Monday they will resist until the "last breath" as security forces pushed into two militant-held towns.

"We will fight until the last breath for the enforcement of Islamic law," Taliban spokesman Muslim Khan told The Associated Press. "We consider ourselves on the right path."

Pakistan military officials said late Sundaythey have now killed more than 1,000 suspected militants in the Swat Valley.

As Pakistani forces press forward, they are moving into major towns in the region, which could lead to bloody urban warfare near the Afghan border.

The escalating clashes have sent more than 1.45 million people fleeing from the region, according to new estimates by the United Nations. About 100,000 of them have moved into crowded displacement camps, officials said.

Fighting intensified last month after a peace deal between the regional government and hardline cleric Sufi Muhammad failed to take hold, and a military operation was launched to expel Taliban from their stronghold in the Swat.

The deal would have allowed for Islamic courts in the valley in Pakistan's North West Frontier Province. By April, it was clear the Taliban would not lay down arms after the cleric complained of government inaction in implementing Islamic law.

Leaders meet

Pakistani political leaders met in Islamabad on Monday to discuss the military operation in the Swat Valley.

Defence Minister Peter MacKay was also in Pakistan for the talks amid concerns that the ongoing insurgency could have implications on Afghanistan.

The legislators approved a resolution that urged them to "to make efforts to unite the nation in the face of the insurgency" in the Swat Valley.

Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said the army would stay in Swat until the displaced can safely return but warned there must be a political solution in the long run.

At the meetings, officials also denied that Pakistan is expanding its nuclear arsenal.

Mike Mullen, a U.S. admiral and chair of the U.S. joint chiefs of staff, told a congressional panel last week there is evidence Pakistan is adding to its nuclear weapons systems and warheads.

"Pakistan does not need to expand its nuclear arsenal, but we want to make it clear that we will maintain a minimum nuclear deterrence that is essential for our defence and stability," said Pakistan Information Minister Qamar Zaman Kaira.

Taliban militants had seized a district just 100 kilometres from the capital of Islamabad in April.

The advance of the Taliban has raised some concerns in the West that the weapons may one day fall into militant hands. A more likely scenario, analysts say, is that Islamists may infiltrate its nuclear facilities and get hold of nuclear knowledge and material.

"I want to tell the world in categoric terms that, with the blessing of God, Pakistan's nuclear assets are safe and will remain safe. No one, no matter how powerful and influential, eyeing on our national assets will succeed," Gilani said.

Washington has pressed Islamabad to crack down on al-Qaeda and Taliban strongholds along the Afghan frontier, saying the militants threaten not only U.S. and NATO troops in Afghanistan, but also Pakistan's existence.