Taliban Militants Tighten Grip in Pakistan

Pushing out from a valley where the government has agreed to impose Islamic law and patrolling villages as close as 60 miles from the capital, Taliban militants have extended their grip in northwestern Pakistan. Police and officials appear to have fled as armed militants also broadcast radio sermons and spread fear in Buner district, just 60 miles from Islamabad. Pakistan's president signed off on the peace pact last week in hopes of calming Swat, where some two years of clashes between the Taliban and security forces have killed hundreds and displaced up to a third of the one ti,e tourist haven's 1.5 million residents.