أغر؟´«أ½

There has been a real change in Pakistan in the past few months.

The public has had enough of the Taliban and the army has gone to war.

As a result, well over one million people have been forced to flee their homes.

The أغر؟´«أ½'s Owen Bennett-Jones went to the Swat Valley, where there has been intense fighting.

First broadcast 25 May 2009
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Before the army began its assault, the Taliban were reported to be controlling territory less than 100 kilometres from the Pakistani capital, Islamabad.

Nearly 2.4m people have fled their homes as a result of the fighting.

The Pakistani public has on the whole been fully behind the army's military campaign, in contrast to the country's media, which had been at best ambivalent about the fight against the Taliban.

However, many parts of the media are changing their attitude.

One of the most significant turning points was when private television channels showed mobile phone footage of a teenage girl being held down and flogged by the Taliban in the Swat Valley.

First broadcast 26 May 2009
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Another reason the public are supporting the military action against the Taliban is that there have been many reports of the recruitment of children as suicide bombers.

Owen investigated the practice and met some of the young boys the Taliban had tried to recruit.

First broadcast 26 May 2009
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On Wednesday, a car bomb attack in the city of Lahore killed at least 23 people and injured about 300.

Gunmen reportedly opened fire on guards before detonating a car bomb which flattened the emergency response building at police HQ.

Nearby offices of the ISI intelligence service were also damaged.

The interior ministry chief linked the attack to Taliban insurgents whom troops are battling in the Swat valley.

Owen Bennett-Jones travelled to the site of the blast and described what he saw.

First broadcast 27 May 2009