Islamists seize town in Pakistan...

As we said earlier, the whole area of Swat is under threat...

President Pervez Musharraf's claim that he imposed emergency rule to fight terrorism was undermined yesterday as armed extremists captured a Pakistani town and the regime freed a key militant.

The town of Matta in the Swat Valley was seized by the extremists after heavily outnumbered security forces laid down their arms.

Once a placid tourist attraction only a few hours from the capital, Islamabad, the town's capture shows how Islamist militants have penetrated deep into Pakistan from their strongholds on the remote Afghan frontier.

Moreover, on Sunday, one day after the declaration of the state of emergency, 25 militants were freed in exchange for 213 soldiers who were captured in the tribal rea of South Waziristan in August.

The Daily Telegraph has learned that Sohail Zeb, 22, was among those freed. He was sentenced to 24 years in jail last month for planning to carry out a suicide bomb attack in the town of Tank.

Baitullah Mehsud, a Taliban commander, had demanded Zeb's release as part of the negotiations over the captured soldiers.