“The Taliban hoped to turn the town of Ambela into a graveyard for the security forces. We ended up making Ambela a graveyard for the Taliban,” says Colonel Naseer Janjua, pointing towards a litter of burnt-out cars, trucks and buses.

The wreckage marks the site of a fierce battle that took place in Ambela when the army was ordered to retake control of Buner, a district adjoining the Swat valley in north-western Pakistan that had been invaded by the Taliban.