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ISLAMABAD, April 28 (APP): The
Frontier Corps with the help of Pakistan Army on Tuesday evening launched a full
fledged operation to eliminate and expel militants from Buner, said Director
General ISPR Major General Athar Abass. Giving detailed briefing to
media‑persons at ISPR, Gen. Athar Abass said the operation which may last for
around one‑week is meant to deal with the militants who are around 450 to 500 in
number.
He said the operation is being
headed by Inspector General Frontier Corps and fighters of PAF and gunship
helicopters of Pakistan Army Aviation besides heavy weaponary of Pakistan Army
are being engaged as backup support in the operation.
He said the operation in Lower
Deer area, launched a couple of days ago, has been successfully accomplished
where around 70 to 75 militants have been killed while 10 FC personnel have
embraced shahadat.
He said the operation in Buner
has been launched after finding all the process of peaceful means to be a
complete failure.
Giving background details of
the operation, he said that kidnapping for ransom of civilians and forces
personnel, killing of police and other law and order personnel, barring the
routine activities and forcefully taking over the public and private property
whereby challenging the writ of the state had become order of the day in the
area. They also attacked the military conveys in the area, he added.
“On April 2 and 3 some 300
armed militants entered the area in violation of the agreement and despite
repeated warnings by the local civil administration during the course, the
militants did not stop their unlawful activities.” Despite all that the
government showed maximum restraint and did not go for any operation with the
aim to fully expose the aims of the militants in the area.
Finally, seeing the worsening
situation the government had left with no other option than to launch an
operation, he said.
He also arranged various tele‑conversations
(intercepted and recorded earlier through intelligence means and ststed to be of
having material veracity) between various militant commanders including of
Maulvi Fazal Ullah were played.
The tele‑conversation proved
that the militants had no plans to leave the area but for the sake of media
coverage only a few of the militants had to move out of the place.
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Director General ISPR in reply
to a question said that there was no proof available of foreign hand involvement
in the on‑going militancy but there are reports that the money, arms and
ammunition and telecommunication systems are being provided to them. “From where
all these are being provided to the militants” he asked.
He said no foreign militant was
found in Deer operation.
He dispelled the impression and
termed all media reports on threats from militants to the federal capital as
baseless. “All such reports are baseless as militants cannot reach here ‑ it’s
not a matter of distance that how far are they (militants) are but there are
many other factors ‑ we have a fool proof system in place to check any such
activity or threat,” he stated in firm tone.
“We are a country of 170
million inhabitants and having a very big military coupled with a huge and
strong system of paramilitary and police in the place ‑ we know how we can
defend our motherland. We all are here to take care of our motherland, so there
is no need to worry about.”
In reply to another
question, he said that they have no clue about banned TNSM leader Maulana Sufi
Muhammad who is reported to be missing for the last couple of days.
When his attention was drawn
towards a recent statement of US General Mike Mullan, DG ISPR said, “we have all
confidence in our capabilities ‑ we know our abilities and how to deal with the
threats from inside and from the neighbour.”
He expressed concern that the
media does not carry that prominently the news of contradiction or denial of a
report carried by it earlier. “We had contradicted a news item according to
which a senior military officer was stated to be delivering a sermon and
offering prayers under the headship of a militant leader.”
In reply to yet another
question, he said nuclear assets of the country are fully safe and guarded well
and any report terming them as unsafe is the part of malicious and baseless
campaign being run against the country.
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