Choppers moved from Taliban fight to flood relief

Pakistan has moved some helicopters from the fight against the Taliban to rescue and relief operations in flooded regions.

"The first priority of these helicopters is relief work," a security official told Reuters on the condition of anonymity.

Asked how it would impact operations against militants in the northwest, he said, "They cannot be readily available, but we can bring them back any time if we need them. We haven't lowered our guard."

Additionally, the Pakistan army has redeployed about 60,000 soldiers out of about 550,000 servicemen for flood-relief efforts.

Military officials say they had not withdrawn any of the 140,000 ground troops fighting militants along the border with Afghanistan, instead drawing them from the central Punjab region.

Any diversion of the Pakistani army's focus from the fight with militants would raise an alarm in the US, as Pakistan's action in its wild border regions is crucial for Washington's efforts to suppress a raging Taliban insurgency in Afghanistan.

Also Tuesday, Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari warned that his country could take more than three years to recover from the floods.

Agencies