Sikhs, who fled from Swat, eat at a temple near Islamabad. (AP)

Islamabad, May 13 (PTI): Pakistan’s claim that over 700 militants have been killed in the offensive against the Taliban in the northwest is being questioned by US military and intelligence officials, who termed it as “wildly exaggerated”.

Pakistani military and civil officials, including interior minister Rehman Malik, have said that more than 700 militants have been killed since security forces launched operations against militants in various parts of the restive Malakand area. The Taliban’s influence increased in the area after a peace deal with the government in Swat.

However, US military and intelligence officials were sceptical about Pakistani claims of high Taliban casualties, according to The Long War Journal, a respected website that tracks the activities of the Taliban, al Qaida and other terror groups.

The Pakistan military’s daily reports of Taliban fighters being killed in Buner, Dir, Shangla and Swat are “wildly exaggerated”, a senior US intelligence official closely watching the operations in Pakistan was quoted as saying. “Malik’s numbers are even more fantastic than those given by the Pakistani military... Clearly (the Pakistani security establishment) want us to believe they’re having fantastic success against the Taliban,” a US intelligence official said.

He noted that the Pakistan military is relying on air and artillery strikes instead of engaging the Taliban. “This is like a bad movie we’ve all seen before. Pakistani military levels large areas, claims success, and thinks we’ll be conned into believing it if they pump up the Taliban body counts,” the unnamed official was quoted as saying.

The claims have also been questioned by people fleeing from Buner and Swat. They said the militants are yet to bear the brunt of the military operation.