Another 13 militants killed in NWA airstrikes

 

MIRANSHAH: Military authorities on Saturday claimed another 13 militants have been killed and seven of their hideouts destroyed in airstrikes in the Mir Ali subdivision of North Waziristan Agency.
The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) in a statement said fighter jets pounded the hideouts of militants after they fired rockets on the posts of the security forces in Mir Ali on Saturday morning.

It said the jets pounded seven hideouts of the militants and killed 13 terrorists. The statement said most of those killed were foreigners.

According to ISPR, a huge cache of arms and ammunition was also destroyed in the airstrikes. It also said consolidation of the cleared area in Miranshah, the headquarters of North Waziristan, and on the Miranshah-Dattakhel road is in progress.

According to the military officials, six motorcycle-borne improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and two vehicle-borne IEDs, both ready to be used in terrorist attacks, two 12.7 mm guns, one 14.5 mm gun, three vehicles, 11 suicide jackets and a huge cache of arms and ammunition were recovered during the last 24 hours in Khar Warsak and Zartangi.

They said three terrorists, including an Uzbek national, have been apprehended from the Boya area. They added that two explosives-laden vehicles were destroyed through aviation strike at Degan village. They claimed two suicide bombers were identified and chased and eventually they exploded and took their lives when encircled close to Boya.

ISPR said relief operations for the IDPs were continuing at full pace in Bannu, Dera Ismail Khan, Tank and Peshawar.

“So far 96,533 ration packs each weighing 110 kilograms have been distributed among the IDPs,” it added.

According to the ISPR statement, 1,012 tonnes of ration has been collected so far at 59 relief collection points established by the Pakistan Army throughout the country. It said most of the ration has been transported to Bannu.

“The army doctors, specially moved to reinforce the local medical effort at Bannu, are busy in providing relief to the patients. So far 12,587 patients have been treated at the Field Medical Hospital established at Khalifa Gul Nawaz Hospital in Bannu by army doctors,” it added.

Jets pound militants in NWA, kill 13

 

MIRANSHAH: After a few days of lull, the Pakistan Air Force fighter jets on Tuesday again pounded seven suspected hideouts of militants in North Waziristan and reportedly killed 13 terrorists.
The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) issued a brief statement to the media about the latest air strikes in the Degan village, which had been attacked earlier as well.The press release didn’t provide further details about the air strikes and the identity of the slain militants.

Degan is located in the Dattakhel Tehsil, near the Afghan border, and is considered a stronghold of the North Waziristan-based Taliban headed by Hafiz Gul Bahadur.Hafiz Gul Bahadur’s group isn’t part of the mainstream Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), led by the Afghanistan-based Pakistani Taliban commander Mullah Fazlullah.

It was the second time that jet fighters carried out bombing in Dattakhel after the launch of the military operation in North Waziristan on June 15. Hafiz Gul Bahadur has until now remained neutral and has announced a ceasefire due to Ramazan till the 10th day of Eidul Fitr and directed his fighters not to attack the security forces.

Taliban sources said some of Gul Bahadur’s fighters had attacked a security checkpoint called Tipo in the Spinwam Tehsil a few days ago, killing two soldiers and causing injuries to a few others. The military authorities, however, didn’t confirm this report and said the soldiers died in a blast caused by an improvised explosive device (IED).

Also, despite repeated warnings by the military authorities and local political administration, the majority of the residents are said to be still residing in Dattakhel and its adjoining villages.

Miranshah and Mir Ali, which are the two major residential and commercial towns in North Waziristan, were largely in control of the militants from the TTP, Uzbeks, Arabs, Chechens and Punjabi Taliban while Gul Bahadur and his fighters dominated Dattakhel when the military launched the operation on June 15.

The militants and residents have vacated both Miranshah and Mir Ali and the adjoining villages but Dattakhel is still said to be in control of Gul Bahadur and his men. Also, residents haven’t vacated Razmak, Dossali and Garyoom tehsils as well as Shawa and Spinwam under arrangements with the army and the administration in return for guarantees that they won’t allow the militants to hide in their areas.

Kayani continued to postpone NWA operation: Gen Athar

 

ISLAMABAD: The former Director General (DG) of Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), Major General (retd) Athar Abbas, on Monday disclosed that the army was ready to launch a military offensive in North Waziristan three years ago but they were unable to do so because of the-then army chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani’s reluctance in this regard.
In an interview with the BBC, Athar said the military leadership gave the go-ahead signal for an operation in North Waziristan in 2010 and preparations for it were made for one year, but it was pulled back at the last minute due to Gen Kayani’s indecisiveness. “It had been decided in principle that preparations for the operation would take place between 2010 and 2011, and that it would be launched in 2011 to rid North Waziristan of extremists once and for all,” Athar said.

When asked whether the reason behind his reluctance to give the final approval for the operation was due to his own weaknesses, Abbas agreed, saying ‘yes’. “He was very reluctant when it came to the North Waziristan operation. Kayani thought the decision to launch the operation would reflect on his personality and people would take it as his personal decision, therefore, he kept delaying the operation.”

Athar further said the delay in launching the military offensive in North Waziristan complicated the situation as the militants had strengthened their positions in the area and also established contact with other militant groups.According to him, the decision to launch the operation was taken afterwards on the basis of intelligence reports and consultation with the military officials posted in the area.

Ground operation begins in NWA

 

PESHAWAR: Following two weeks of heavy bombing and day and night artillery shelling, security forces came out of their heavily-guarded military camp in Miranshah and started the ground offensive by demolishing suspected militants hideouts on Monday.
The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) in a statement said 15 militants were killed in exchange of fire with the troops during house-to-house search operation in Miranshah, the headquarters of North Waziristan.

A security official in Miranshah said it was the second time during the past one week the security forces had conducted a ground operation.Pleading anonymity, he said it was a major offensive inwhich hundreds of soldiers, backed by tanks with air cover provided by helicopter gunships, took part and demolished a number of buildings that had served as sanctuaries for the local and foreign militants in the Miranshah bazaar.

“We have details of each and every place where the terrorists used to stay and make their plans,” the military official said. However, he said the troops didn’t face any significant resistance during the daylong ground operation.

“The start has been taken from Miranshah and after clearing it and adjoining villages, the ground operation would be extended to Mir Ali and other parts of North Waziristan,” he said.Though the North Waziristan tribal Jirga has been insisting that thousands of people were still stranded in various villages of North Waziristan due to a host of reasons, military officials said the ground operation was launched after the evacuation of all the civil population.

According to the ISPR, security forces recovered underground tunnels where improvised explosive devices (IEDs) were made. It said the area was cleared following a brief gunbattle with the militants that caused injuries to three soldiers.

Tribal sources in Miranshah and its adjoining villages said before the launch of the ground operation on Monday, helicopter gunships and long-range artillery heavily targetted the area where the troops later conducted house-to-house search operation.

“The army blew up several buildings and houses in Miranshah during the operation and thick smoke could be seen rising from distant places,” a tribesman told this correspondent on phone from Dossali.

Pleading anonymity, he said the people and militants had vacated Miranshah and its adjoining villages and shifted to Razmak, Shawal and Dattakhel areas in North Waziristan before the launch of the military operation. However, he said that many families had left behind some members to look after their homes and cattle head in the villages.

“Some of the people remained in their homes in the villages but they were ordered by the military to leave the area. They later came to Razmak and Dossali along with their cattle head. The residents of Razmak, Dossali and Garyoom would soon leave the area as they cannot do any business and lead normal life,” the tribesman added.

According to the ISPR, artillery, tanks and other heavy weapons were used in the action against militants.After the launch of “Zarb-e-Azb” military operation on June 15, the ISPR said 376 militants had been killed so far while 19 others surrendered to security forces. It said that 61 hideouts of terrorists were destroyed in the operation. The ISPR admitted that 17 soldiers had died fighting the militants.

19 terrorists killed as military operation continues in NWA

RAWALPINDI: Nineteen terrorists have been killed as operation ‘Zarb-e-Azb’ launched by the Pakistan military continues in North Waziristan Agency (NWA).

According to the ISPR, PAF jet aircrafts destroyed six confirmed terrorist hideouts on the outskirts of Mir Ali killing eleven terrorists on Friday evening. Terrorist concentrations were also targeted on Saturday morning by Artillery Tanks and heavy weapons outside Miranshah killing seven terrorists.

Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) commander of Miranshah, Umer has also been killed by security forces last night on the outskirts of Miranshah.

ISPR states that after the surrender of 19 terrorists there are reports that more terrorists are ready to lay down their arms. Meanwhile, one prominent Al-Qaeda commander has been arrested while trying to flee and initial investigations shows him as an explosive, IED and suicide belt expert. Three terrorists were arrested by security forces while trying to cross the Indus River near Mir Ali.

An effective cordon is in place around terrorist hideouts in all places in North Waziristan Agency.

The civilian population has been evacuated from North Waziristan and announcements are being made for any stranded tribals who may have stayed back for any reasons, to leave also.

13 terrorists killed in NWA bombing 12 surrender

MIRANSHAH: The fighter aircraft of PAF continued pounding suspected positions of militants in the Mir Ali subdivision of North Waziristan on Wednesday, killing 13 terrorists.

Military authorities said the aircraft had struck five sanctuaries of militants in Mir Ali, where the militants were still hiding, despite the fact that local residents had already vacated their houses and villages.

Also, the Inter-Services (ISPR) said in a statement that 12 terrorists surrendered to the security forces in North Waziristan Agency on Wednesday.It didn’t disclose identity of the militants surrendered to the security forces. Also, it was not clear whether those surrendered belonged to the North Waziristan Taliban leader Hafiz Gul Bahadur group or the banned Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).

Meanwhile, North Waziristan remained under curfew for the second consecutive day on Wednesday. Though majority of the residents had fled the tribal region, there was no traffic on roads and all shops and markets remained closed due to curfew in North Waziristan.Official sources said security had been tightened on checkpoints and observation posts set up on hilltops in the tribal region.

47 more terrorists killed in Khyber, NWA

 

PESHAWAR: Forty-seven terrorists were killed and their 23 hideouts were destroyed in the security forces operation in Khyber and North Waziristan tribal agencies on Tuesday.A suicide bombing attempt on a security forces checkpost in North Waziristan was also foiled in which two soldiers and a civilian embraced martyrdom.
Despite announcing a ceasefire by the North Waziristan-based Taliban till the 10th day of upcoming Eidul Fitr, a suicide bomber driving an explosive-laden car attacked a checkpoint in the Spinwam area of the volatile tribal region, killing two paramilitary Frontier Corps (FC) personnel and a tribesman.

Military authorities gave two different versions about the nature of the blast.Some military officials, soon after the attack, said that unknown people had parked an explosive-laden car in the parking area of the Civil Hospital in Spinwam, which is adjacent to an old fort housing personnel of the FC.

They said the blast caused damage to the FC fort and resulted in the death of two personnel and injuries to seven others. However, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) later issued a statement and said the soldiers at a roadside checkpoint asked a car to stop but when he didn’t obey, the troops opened fire on it.

According to the ISPR, a suicide bomber was driving an explosive-laden car and had planned to hit an important security installations in the same area.The suicide bomber blew himself up even before reaching the roadside checkpoint and killed three people, two of them FC personnel, and a civilian. Seven other FC men were reportedly injured in the blast.

According to tribal sources, the security forces later cordoned off the area and rescued the injured soldiers.Though the local administration had clamped a curfew in the entire tribal region, it was learnt after the suicide attack the government and military authorities had exempted the residents of four major residential towns including Garyoom, Razmak, Dosali and Spinwam from displacement.

There was no curfew in Spinwam in Mir Ali subdivision, adjacent to Thall Tehsil in Hangu district, and that’s why the suicide bomber managed to travel on the Mir Ali-Thall Road and carry out suicide attack.

Meanwhile, Ansarul Mujahideen, a mysterious militant organisation believed to be operated by Arab fighters, claimed responsibility for the first suicide attack in North Waziristan following the military operation, Zarb-e-Azb, launched on June 15 against local and foreign militants.

Its spokesman, Abu Baseer said it was part of the Zarb-e-Momin operations announced by the North Waziristan-based Taliban leader Hafiz Gul Bahadur in response to Zarb-e-Azb military operation of the government in North Waziristan.

Asked how did Ansarul Mujahideen justify starting attacks on the security forces when Hafiz Gul Bahadur himself had announced a ceasefire till the 10th day of Eidul Fitr, Abu Baseer argued that their responsibility was to assist the ‘Mujahideen’ in trouble but weren’t required to obey their personal decisions.“It’s the beginning our operations, see how do we react in future,” the spokesman threatened.

Taliban sources said Ansarul Mujahideen is the new name of another mysterious and dangerous militant organisation, Khurasan, that used to kidnap tribespeople and then ruthlessly kill them on charges of spying for the Pakistan Army and US military and passing on information to Americans on local and foreign militants to kill them through drone attacks in North Waziristan.

Sources said that its head is an Arab national and operates from North Waziristan. According to Taliban sources, Ansarul Mujahideen is having dozens of suicide bombers. However, like militants of the banned Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and its associated militant groups, majority members of Ansarul Mujahideen had fled North Waziristan and established sanctuaries in new places.

Taliban close to Hafiz Gul Bahadur said that he had turned down when the TTP leader Maulana Fazlullah and his other commanders offered him their assistance in fighting against the Pakistan government.Meanwhile, after the suicide attack in Spinwam, military authorities said fighter jets pounded 11 ‘terrorists’ hideouts in Mir Ali subdivision and killed 27 terrorists on Tuesday afternoon.

Before the air strikes in Mir Ali, the ISPR in a statement said 20 terrorists were killed in early morning air strikes on their hideouts in Khyber Agency. It said 12 hideouts of the terrorists were destroyed in the air strikes in Jamrud subdivision of Khyber Agency.

On the other hand, the Fata Disaster Management Authority (FDMA) had registered 454,207 people (36,514 families) displaced from North Waziristan as a result of military operation Out of them, only 18 families had agreed to go to the so-called relief camp the government established for them at a remote and insecure area of Saidgai, located close to North Waziristan’s Mir Ali area.

The lack of basic facilities and its proximity to the volatile tribal region is a major reason the IDPs are reluctant to go there. Even media people and non-government organisations (NGOs) who wanted to help the displaced families are not allowed to go to the camp.

Military officials said three ration distribution points had been established for the IDPs in Bannu, Dera Ismail Khan and Tank districts.They said distribution of 4,473 tons of ration for 40,000 families would start from today (Wednesday).

Our Landikotal correspondent adds: At least 20 suspected militants were killed when jetfighters bombed their hideouts in Tirah valley in Khyber Agency, officials said.

However, the local people said six members of a family, including women and children, were also among the dead.

The ISPR said in a statement that the jetfighters started targeting the hideouts of the militants at around 6:00am in Sverai, Wachy Wany, Tor Darra, Seekh Kot, Sray Khawrey, Serai and surrounding areas in the remote Tirah valley.

However, Kukikhel tribesmen in the area said six members of the family of one Khan Wali were also killed in the bombardment. The dead included three sons, two daughters and wife of Khan Wali. They were laid to rest in Kukikhel area in Tirah.

Meanwhile, a member of the government’s Khassadar force identified as Khan was critically wounded when two persons riding a motorcycle opened fire at him in Shahkas area in Jamrud. The accused fled the scene after committing the crime.The injured man was rushed to Civil Hospital in Jamrud for treatment.

227,000 people have left NWA

PESHAWAR: Federal Minister for States and Frontier Regions (Safron) Abdul Qadir Baloch said here on Friday that more than 227,000 people had left the North Waziristan Agency following the military operation that began six days ago.
Talking to reporters at the Governor’s House here, he said 15,757 families comprising 56,214 men, 70,465 women and 100,370 children had so far left North Waziristan.

He said more displaced families were arriving in Bannu where four registration points had been established. He said each family was being provided Rs12,000 in cash.

Abdul Qadir Baloch said only eight families were residing in the government camp in the Bakkakhel area in the Frontier Region, Bannu, while most of the displaced families were staying with relatives and friends. He added that some of the IDPs owned houses in the settled areas.

The minister said the commissioner of Bannu division was the focal person while Brig Mukhtar from the Army, Abbas Khan from the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) and a representative of the Fata Disaster Management Authority would assist him in making arrangements for the IDPs.

He said Rs3,000 would also be provided to the IDPs residing in rented houses. “Arrangements have been made to provide medical treatment, food and water to the IDPs at the camp,” he added.

Qadir Baloch said the IDPs had been divided into two categories as some had left for the settled areas while others had relocated to safer places inside North Waziristan. He said transportation arrangements had also been made for the IDPs.

He claimed that according to Additional Secretary, Safron, Tariq Hayat, some 2,000 buses had been hired to transport the IDPs. He said the National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra) had established 14 points to facilitate the verification process.

He said the residents of North Waziristan had been given time to vacate the troubled areas. He feared the number of IDPs might reach four to five lakh in the coming days.

Lauding the tribal people, the minister said it was a great sacrifice to leave one’s home. “The nation will have to be united to defeat militancy. The political parties should also support the security forces that are rendering sacrifices for the country,” he said.

To a question that the provincial government had complained that it had not been taken into confidence on the military operation, he said the whole nation was on board, including the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI). “All the elected members are on board and they have been included in the supervision process,” he claimed.

He urged the media to support the government and the army so that the military operation could be carried out successfully.To a question about the duration of military action, he said atime frame couldn’t be given as the offensive would continue till the elimination of the last terrorist.

“The federal government has released Rs500 million to provide relief to the IDPs and more money would be made available if needed. No effort will be spared to mitigate the sufferings of the IDPs,” he vowed.He said most of the tribesmen were fed up with militancy and wanted to see an end to the violence on their soil.

Our Miranshah correspondent adds: The Pakistan Army’s Cobra helicopters on Friday pounded suspected hideouts of the militants in the Qutabkhel village and reportedly killed 12 militants, including foreign fighters.

Residents in North Waziristan’s headquarters Miranshah said the people panicked when gunship helicopters early morning started shelling targets in Qutabkhel, about six kilometres east of Miranshah.

As it was the last day for evacuation of the tribesmen from North Waziristan, those who had already packed their belongings and were about to leave became worried after hearing shelling by the helicopters.

The military authorities later informed the local people that it was a targeted action and would not affect their evacuation.The military said local and foreign militants had established sanctuaries in Qutabkhel and used to plant improvised explosive devices (IEDs) on the main Miranshah-Mir Ali Road to target security forces.

The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) in a statement said three hideouts of terrorists were destroyed in the military action. It said that 12 militants, including Uzbek fighters, were killed in shelling on their hideouts.

“It was an integrated action by the Cobra gunships, artillery and snipers. Besides the loss of 12 terrorists, a huge cache of arms and ammunition was also destroyed,” the ISPR statement said.

Military officials said security forces had cordoned off the entire North Waziristan tribal region as many hardcore terrorists were planning to escape.The press release said on the sixth day of the military operation “Zarb-e-Azb”, security forces apprehended three local persons who claimed to be residents of North Waziristan but couldn’t provide any proof of their identity.

According to the military officials, they were trying to flee the tribal region during the night between Thursday and Friday.Meanwhile, the press release said security forces took 24 other men into custody during routine screening of displaced persons before leaving North Waziristan at the Khajori checkpoint near the Mir Ali town.The military officials said these men were suspects and were trying to escape in the guise of IDPs.

Eight Uzbeks among 23 militants killed in NWA

 

MIRANSHAH: Military authorities on Thursday said that helicopter gunships destroyed militants’ communication centres established on hilltops towards the east of North Waziristan’s headquarters Miranshah.
The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) in a statement said 23 militants, eight of them Uzbeks, were killed when the Pakistan Army helicopter gunships pounded their positions on Zartatangi hilltops east of Miranshah.

Tribal sources in Miranshah said they had seen the helicopters targeting the mountains at some distance from the residential area but were unable to confirm the name of the hilltop ‘Zartatangi’ where the ISPR claimed the militants had established communication centres.

Also, the ISPR statement said snipers of the Pakistan Army killed eight Uzbek militants when they were planting improvised explosive devices (IEDs) on the Miranshah-Mir Ali Road on Wednesday night.There was no further detail in the ISPR statement whether the bodies of the slain Uzbek militants were taken away by the militants or were in the possession of security forces.

After the government launched a major military operation codenamed “Zarb-e-Azb” against the local and foreign militants in North Waziristan last Sunday, the Pakistan Air Force fighter aircraft and army’s helicopter gunships began pounding the suspected positions of the militants in the tribal region.

It is expected that an extensive ground offensive will be launched in North Waziristan once evacuation of the civilian population is completed. Almost 140,000 persons are reported to have fled North Waziristan and entered Bannu since the launching of the operation.

APP adds from Islamabad: Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) General Raheel Sharif visited the Air Headquarters here on Thursday and called on Chief of the Air Staff (CAS) Air Chief Marshal Tahir Rafique Butt.According to the ISPR, progress of the ongoing operation Zarb-e-Azb was reviewed and matters of mutual interest were discussed.NNI adds: Air Chief Marshal Tahir Rafique Butt welcomed General Raheel Sharif to the Air Headquarters. Both chiefs also agreed on strategies to make the operation more effective.

Nawaz, Karzai discuss NWA operation

 

ISLAMABAD: Afghan President Hamid Karzai has discussed with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif developments on the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan in the wake of the ongoing military operation in the bordering tribal areas of North Waziristan Agency(NWA) against the terrorists.
The Afghan president made a telephone call to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on late Thursday evening. He reportedly assured the premier of support of his administration in the military operation.

It was the second direct telephonic contact between the two leaders in about five days. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif called Hamid Karzai on the day he announced the launch of the military operation and sought Afghan cooperation for the action. It has been officially stated that Thursday’s call by the Afghan president followed up after the visit of special Pakistani envoy Mehmood Khan Achakzai, chief of the Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP) and Member National Assembly to Kabul on Tuesday where he had a detailed meeting with Afghan President Hamid Karzai and discussed security cooperation with him.

Foreign Secretary Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhary also accompanied him in the visit. Spokesperson of the Foreign Office Tasneem Aslam has confirmed that Mehmood Khan Achakzai, Member of Parliament, visited Afghanistan on 17-18th June as the special envoy of the prime minister to seek Afghanistan’s cooperation in eliminating terrorism.

Afghan Ambassador to Pakistan Janan Mosazai had an important meeting with the Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) General Raheel Sharif at the GHQ on Wednesday. The ISPR reported that during the meeting, the ongoing operation in the North Waziristan Agency and matters of mutual interest including measures to improve the security along the Pak-Afghan border were discussed.

Ground operation launched in NWA

 

PESHAWAR: The government finally launched a full-scale ground operation in North Waziristan Agency (NWA) after fighter jets pounded suspected militant hideouts, killing 80 militants, including foreigners.
According to ISPR, the military operation Zarb-e-Azb was launched against local and foreign terrorists.According to the military authorities, it was named after the prominent sword prophet Muhammad (PBUH) had used in two famous, wars, the Jang-e-Badr and Jang-e-Uhad, against the enemies of Islam.“It would be a comprehensive operation against the terrorists who had established sanctuaries in North Waziristan,” a military official said requesting not to be named.

Some media reports quoting security sources suggested that Uzbek commander and the mastermind of the Karachi airport attack Abu Rehman was also among the extremists killed in the air strikes.

The ISPR said a ground operation has been launched in NWA on the directives of the government. The security forces have besieged Miranshah and Mir Ali, the two main towns of North Waziristan. However, according to ISPR, civilians have been allowed to leave the area and surrender points have been established at various spots for the militants who are willing to surrender. The ISPR said the displaced people will be provided transport and shelter.

The ISPR said the operation has been launched against the local and foreign militants who were using North Waziristan for terror activities. Afghan forces have been asked to seal the border to stop the fleeing militants, and aerial surveillance has also been conducted in the area. The local tribespeople will be informed about further steps through announcements.

According to ISPR, the army has been given the task of eliminating the terrorists. It said the process of identifying terrorists’ sanctuaries has been completed.Though the government and military authorities made a formal announcement about the launching of the military operation on Sunday evening, the offensive had already began as Pakistan Air Force fighter jets had bombed Deegan village of Boya tehsil, 25 kilometers west of North Waziristan’s headquarters Miranshah, early in the day.

Military authorities claimed that the fighter jets had hit the sanctuaries of the militants and killed 80 militants, including foreign fighters.The ISPR statement said those killed included Uzbek militants.

A military official, who pleaded anonymity, claimed that a senior leader of the Uzbek militants, Abu Abdur Rahman Al Mani, was killed in the Sunday air strikes in Deegan village. This claim could not be verified through independent sources.

He said air strikes by Pakistani fighter jets were carried out on what he called ‘accurate’ intelligence information about the presence of local and foreign militants. Fearing a military operation in the tribal region against the local and foreign militants, a majority of the residents of North Waziristan had already left their homes and villages for safer places and parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

The government did not make any arrangements for the displaced tribespeople upon their arrival at the settled areas of the province and most of the people are living and staying with their relatives, friends and acquaintances or in rented houses. In Mir Ali, 95 percent of the residents have fled the area while 70 percent of the people of Miranshah have vacated their houses and villages.

However, the residents of Deegan village and other places in Dattakhel subdivision, which is the hometown of the Taliban chief Hafiz Gul Bahadur, were still waiting for the situation to improve.

Though the people had long feared that the government was preparing for a military operation, the formal announcement on Sunday by the government sent a wave of terror and concern among the tribespeople remaining in the trouble tribal region.

The Taliban headed by Hafiz Gul Bahadur had signed a peace accord with the government in 2006-07 in which both sides had promised that they would not attack each other.After the attack on the Jinnah International Airport in Karachi, which another group of the Pakistani Taliban, headed by Maulana Fazlullah and Uzbek militants had claimed, the Pakistan government had asked the North Waziristan Taliban leader to expel those who came from other areas using the tribal region in the Pakistani state within two weeks or face military action.

A jirga was supposed to hold meetings with the North Waziristan Taliban shura or council to ask them to expel non-local militants from the tribal region and then inform the government and military authorities about the progress of their efforts.

The deadline had not expired yet and the elders of the tribal jirga were still negotiating between the government and militants when the jets started bombing the area.One of the jirga members told this correspondent that the government had sent them to Waziristan for a meeting with the Taliban but imposed curfew in the entire tribal region and it was not possible for them to move and meet the Taliban shura.

“We knew they would make an excuse and would start an operation but it’s not a fair game as they had given us a two-week deadline till June 20. Even the Taliban had extended their deadline till June 20 regarding the scrapping of their peace accord with the government. The government launched the offensive and thus violated the accord,” he said.

He said the Taliban had convened an emergency meeting of the shura and would soon chalk out their future strategy. He said the Taliban had denied reports about the loss of foreign militants and alleged those killed were local residents.

Meanwhile, tribal sources said the senior leadership of the banned Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) had secretly left North Waziristan and shifted to Tirah valley in Khyber Agency and Shahbaz valley lying between North and South Waziristan.

The TTP leadership had earlier announced that they would fight shoulder-to-shoulder with Hafiz Gul Bahadur and his fighters against the government. He said all the political parties have thrown their weight behind the Pakistan Army in the operation against terrorists.The minister said a major military operation was the need of the hour but stopped short of giving details of the operation, saying the details cannot be made public at this stage.

Thousands flee NWA fearing operation: officials

PESHAWAR: Tens of thousands of people from Pakistan´s most troubled tribal district have fled their homes fearing a long-awaited military operation is imminent, officials and residents said Monday.

A government official in Peshawar told AFP that some 58,000 people, mostly women and children, had fled North Waziristan district since air strikes targeting militants in late May killed at least 75 people.

The exodus has increased rapidly in recent days, with more than 25,000 fleeing their homes in the last 48 hours alone, he added.

An official in the district´s main town of Miranshah confirmed the migration was underway to various parts of northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkwha province.

"I am taking my family to a safer location," said one resident who did not wish to be named.

The rugged district that lies on the border with Afghanistan is the main stronghold of Taliban and Al-Qaeda-linked militants in the lawless tribal belt after the Pakistani military launched offensives in the six other districts.

Elders fear government has decided to launch NWA operation

 

PESHAWAR: The recent talks between the government and North Waziristan tribal jirga in Peshawar proved a futile exercise as both sides had reportedly stuck to their demands that made the jirga members understand that the government was going to launch a full-scale military operation, said a senior member of the jirga, Hafiz Noorullah Shah.
“In our meetings with the corps commander and later with the government, the only thing we noted was the government has made up its mind to conduct a military operation in North Waziristan,” said Hafiz Noorullah Shah, a cleric who runs a madrassa in Miranshah, the headquarters of North Waziristan.

Earlier, another member of the jirga, Maulana Gul Ramazan had stated that the government had given them a two-week deadline to expel all foreign militants from North Waziristan and the government would not use force there.

However, Hafiz Noorullah Shah seemed quite disappointed and said they were going to Waziristan to bring their families and valuables out of the tribal region as, according to him, the government was preparing for the operation there.

Talking to this correspondent on phone while on his way to Miranshah, he said they demanded of the government to remove the recently installed five military observation posts in Mir Ali and Miranshah, which, according to him, had caused unrest among the local tribespeople and Taliban leadership.

Hafiz Noorullah Shah said that the government had agreed with them to remove the military observation posts but the jirga would need to expel all foreign and non-local Pakistani militants from the tribal region.

The jirga members had spent two days, Friday and Saturday, in hectic meetings mostly with senior military officials in Peshawar and tried their best to convince the military authorities and government to issue a statement that they would not launch a military operation so that the tribespeople could stop fleeing their houses and villages.

Tribal elder Haji Sher Mohammad Wazir, the grandson of late freedom fighter Mirza Ali Khan alias the Faqir of Ipi, and a religious leader Maulana Gul Ramazan, had led the tribal jirga that comprised tribal elders and clerics.On Saturday evening, the North Waziristan Taliban leader Hafiz Gul Bahadur called some of the jirga members and wanted to learn from them about the outcome of their meetings with the governor and corps commander.

“Obviously we didn’t have good news for the Taliban shura and the people of Waziristan. Hafiz Gul Bahadur agreed that foreign people had to leave the tribal region for the sake of the people but not at this time when the government had put a gun to his head,” Hafiz Noorullah Shah explained.

Fearing a military operation, the local Taliban had asked tribespeople to shift their families out of Waziristan before June 10. Also, they had asked the tribespeople to avoid taking shelter in the government-run camps meant for the internally displaced persons (IDPs) and advised them to go to neighbouring Afghanistan, if fighting erupted.

Asked whether the Taliban would extend the deadline, Hafiz Noorullah Shah said the Taliban shura wasn’t satisfied with the meetings between the jirga and government, therefore they should extend the June 10 deadline.

According to sources, the military authorities and particularly the Corps Commander Peshawar Lt Gen Khalid Rabbani had made it clear to the jirga members that the time has come they should realise their responsibilities as elders after signing a peace accord with the government in 2006-7 and pledged that they would be responsible for maintaining order and would not allow foreigners to stay there.

In the past, the tribal elders after sensing military action would come to Peshawar and Islamabad and make promises of taking action against foreigners and under tribal traditions would succeed in avoiding the use of force there.

This time, the jirga members admitted that the tone of the government and military officials had changed.Malik Sher Mohammad Waziri however hoped they would avoid the use of force through negotiations.

“The task is no doubt difficult but we will talk to our elders in Waziristan to find a peaceful solution. We would tell the people that we don’t want to fight against our armed forces and if someone is willing to fight then we would vacate Waziristan and let them do their work. But I must say the people of Waziristan are peace loving Pakistanis. Mehsud tribespeople are our brothers and would convince them to leave their area,” Sher Mohammad Wazir said.

 

Key TTP commander among three killed in NWA

PESHAWAR: An important commander of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), along with two other militants, was killed in the armed clash of two groups of Taliban in North Waziristan on Thursday.

Ashiqullah Mehsud, a key commander of the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and a so-called expert of suicide bombings was killed in a firing incident in North Waziristan tribal region Mir Ali, private news channel reported.The sources said that Ashiqullah was sitting with some members of the TTP when he was assaulted by the gunmen who escaped in a car after firing.

Both official and tribal sources confirmed that Ashiqullah Mehsud was the main commander of the TTP and was considered the master trainer of suicide bombing after Qari Hussain Mehsud who was the top expert and the inventor of suicide bomb blasts.

Intelligence sources believe that the incident is the result of a rivalry between Shehryar Mehsud and Khan Said Sajna groups. The latter also parted ways with the central TTP group.None of the groups have claimed responsibility for the attack yet. Furthermore, no statement has been issued by the TTP about Ashiqullah’s death so far.

Efforts being made to separate NWA from Pakistan, says Imran

ISLAMABAD: Referring to the military action against terrorists, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Chairman Imran Khan told journalists Tuesday that it appeared that efforts were being made to separate North Waziristan from Pakistan. He said the internally-displaced persons were fleeing more to Afghanistan than to other parts of Pakistan.

“Why we want to push North Waziristan out of Pakistan? Foreign actors are also involved in this dangerous game.”Appealing to Army Chief General Raheel Sharif, he said: “For God sake think about Pakistan”. He claimed that women and children were dying in the ongoing operation and the East Pakistan-like thinking was developing among people.

The PTI chief asked where was the leadership of Pakistan and said the prime minister was busy undertaking foreign visits. He said the prime minister had undertaken record 14 foreign tours whereas foreign investment was the lowest ever during this period.

He again said Pakistan must come out of others’ war and insisted that war was no solution to Pakistan’s problems. He advocated resumption of talks with the Taliban. Imran pointed out that there had been significant decrease in terror acts after the start of peace process with the Taliban. He noted there had been a change in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa following talks with the Taliban.

Criticizing the government policies, he said the sense of deprivation among smaller provinces was increasing.Imran claimed to have received scores of messages that locals in Waziristan thought as if the agency was being separated. He recalled how he had witnessed a sense of deprivation among the people of East Pakistan when he was on tour as part of under-19 cricket team, where it was felt they were being treated as a colony of Pakistan. Imran said the same feeling was seething in Balochistan.

The PTI chief said it seemed as if only the Punjab was Pakistan for mega projects, as projects like metro bus were being launched there instead of funds allocation for hydel power projects.Imran claimed that circular rail project was for Karachi being Pakistan’s biggest city, but it was abandoned and now metro train project was to be started in Lahore, costing double amount.

“An impression is being given to the people of smaller provinces that Punjab was the only Pakistan,” he asserted.He repeated his demand for thumb verification of voters in four constituencies and claimed worst ever rigging was carried out during the last year’s general election. Imran noted that a party which could not hold public meetings in Islamabad, Karachi and Lahore had bagged so many votes after the polls.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Pervaiz Khattak said the prime minister should follow the Constitution in running Pakistan as a federation. He also complained that the Centre was ignoring his province. He said if the federation supported his province, they could produce power at the rate of Rs2-3 per unit. He reminded Nawaz Sharif that he was the prime minister of Pakistan and not of Punjab only.

Imran reiterated that they had proposed to the Centre to hand power generation and distribution over to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, saying they could not only cut down line losses, but also reduce power tariff. But, he continued, the federal government had declined to hand the electricity system over to them.

Khattak noted that his province that produced gas, hydel power and oil was being deprived of its rightful share of funds by the federal government. He said the federal government was yet to pay Khyber Pakhtunkhwa the agreed payment of Rs6 billion net hydel profit.

In addition, the decision on uncapping of net hydel profits, which was finalized by the technical committee of the federal government in March 2013 and duly notified, had yet to be implemented. “These arrears stand in excess of Rs138 billion owed to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government,” he said.

He said levy of excise duty on crude oil came under Article 161 of the Constitution. “This is the provincial revenue but the federal government has to notify it which they are refusing to do. As a result, the annual loss of revenue for his province is in excess of Rs15 billion,” Khattak said.

Khattak said provision of Windfall Levy under Clause 4.1 of the Petroleum Policy 2015 of which 50 per cent was to go to the province had not been levied. This had caused a loss of more than Rs25 billion per annum to the province.

Non-payment of royalty on LPG as decreed by the PHC was resulting in losses of hundreds of millions of rupees annually, he maintained.Meanwhile, the Geo News team was Tuesday afternoon barred from covering the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Chairman Imran Khan’s news briefing at his Bani Gala residence here.

“Sorry, we have orders not to let you in,” asserted a security official when asked by a Geo journalist as to why they were not being allowed in to cover the event.The Geo team waited outside Imran’s residence along with the DSNG van but no one came out to let them enter the premises.

During the news briefing, when one of the media persons drew Imran’s attention towards the issue, he said the PTI was on boycott of Geo/Jang Group which will continue unless Jang Group owner apologised to him for their alleged campaign against him.

Meanwhile, a Jang Group spokesman said no campaign was launched against Imran Khan. If he had any proofs in this regard, he should send these to the Jang Group. He said the Jang Group people were in touch with the PTI team and they were never informed of any such alleged campaign.

The spokesman said as for as the coverage of recent days is concerned it was in self defence and consisted of replies to the allegations leveled by the PTI chief. He said these allegations have been proved wrong one by one. Imran Khan would not accept this but all will be clear in courts.The spokesman said Imran Khan can approach Pemra, Council of Complaints and courts in this regard.

Nisar debunks Reuters report on NWA as ‘nonsense’

 

ISLAMABAD: Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan has termed as “nonsensical and farcical” the contents of a Reuters report about the proceedings and content of the recently held security meeting between Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Army chief General Raheel Sharif.
In a statement issued here today, he said this is not the first time that this news agency has come up with whimsical and distorted reports about civil-military relations.

Clarifying the situation, the minister said the meeting was held in a highly congenial and positive atmosphere in which wide ranging issues pertaining to national security, including the situation on our borders, was discussed.

“No decision for a full-scale military operation in North Waziristan was taken. There was no decision to call off the dialogue process, nor was any such demand made from either side as reported by the news agency, he added.

Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan said the current state of air strikes and limited military action is in continuation of the already taken decision that any act of violence or terrorism against civilian or military targets will meet a calibrated and measured response.

The minister also clarified that no decision has been taken to hand over the security of Islamabad and other major cities to the army nor is Nacta involved in this whole matter in any manner as has been reported in a section of press. What is being misconceived and misinterpreted is an effort by the government to strengthen the capacity of the police and other civilian law enforcing agencies through the support, input and coordination with the armed forces, he added.

He said this is in no way a recent decision, and the whole process is being fine-tuned for quite some time. Since this entire exercise is still under consideration and discussion, it is too early to pass judgments as a press report has done, as to what form and ultimate formulation this coordination will take.

Military sources in Rawalpindi, commenting on the news story by Reuters, said that the aerial strikes on Wednesday in North Waziristan Agency, in which 60 terrorists were killed, were carried out after approval of the political government, in response to terrorists acts of the last few weeks in Fata, KP and Karachi in which several civilian and military personnel embraced shahadat. When The News asked Reuters for a response to the statement by the Interior Minister and military sources, a Reuters reporter said they will do a new story on the subject on Sunday and respond to all the points.

No decision yet on full-scale operation in NWA: Chaudhry Nisar

ISLAMABAD: Interior Minister, Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan Saturday said neither a decision has been made on undertaking a full-scale military operation in North Waziristan nor on abandoning the dialogue process with the Taliban militants.

Talking to media representatives, he said no suggestion came from any side to scrap the process of peace talks with the Taliban in the recent meeting focusing on the country’s security issues.

He said the aerial offensive and limited action carried out in North Waziristan agency along side the Afghan border were part of the decision made some time back.

The Interior Minister termed as ridiculous a report of a foreign news agency on the meeting of security matters chaired by the Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. “This is not the first time a foreign news agency has released a flawed report on (Pakistan’s) civil-military relations,” he added.

Chaudhry Nisar clarified that the meeting presided over by the PM was held in a very cordial atmosphere.

He further said that no such decision has been taken to hand over the security of Islamabad or any other major city of the country to the army.

5 killed, 7 injured as forces target militant hideouts in NWA

PESHAWAR: At least five militants were killed and seven others injured as security forces pounded militant hideouts in North Waziristan tribal region on the third consecutive day.

According to reports, the troops backed by helicopter gunship targeted the hideouts in Defgan area of Mir Ali.

A curfew has been clamped in the tribal area as forces continue to attack militant hideouts.

Scores of suspected militants have been killed in the air strikes and ground offensive over the last couple of days.

60 terrorists killed as warplanes pound militant hideouts in NWA

PESHAWAR: Pakistan Air Force warplanes bombarded militant hideouts in country’s northwestern tribal, killing 60 terrorists including foreign fighters.

According to an ISPR statement, 30 terrorists were also injured.

Sources said that the PAF jets pounded the suspected hideouts in Mir Ali and other areas of North Waziristan tribal region.

They said that some foreigners were also killed in the air strikes. Pakistan has engaged The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), an umbrella of more than 30 militant organizations, in talks in a bid to put an end to home grown insurgency.

However, there has been little progress in peace process as the TTP saw raging infighting in South Waziristan between two groups of the militant organization headed by Khan Said Sajna and Sheryar Mehsud.

Top tribal chief of NWA, driver, bodyguard killed

 

MIRANSHAH: Unidentified gunmen shot dead a prominent tribal elder, designated by the government as the chief of North Waziristan, along with his driver and a bodyguard in Miranshah, North Waziristan Agency, on Thursday.
A senior government official said Malik Qadir Khan was on his way home in a car when armed men opened fire on them near the Chashma Pul.It is the same place where a senior local journalist Malik Mumtaz Khan was killed by unidentified people two years ago.

Malik Qadir Khan belonged to the Madakhel tribe. He was among the leading tribal elders and someone who tried to maintain peace in North Waziristan. He was the head of the tribal Jirga constituted by Maulana Fazlur Rahman’s JUI-F to promote peace talks with the militants. However, the government of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif didn’t use the services of the tribal Jirga much to the annoyance of Maulana Fazlur Rahman.

Due to security concerns and following the targeted killing of tribal elders, Malik Qadir Khan had shifted his family from his native North Waziristan to Lakki Marwat district in the southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province a few years ago.

Most of his tribe continued to live in North Waziristan, a volatile tribal region where local and foreign militants are active.“He used to come to Waziristan to help settle local disputes and would return home after spending some time,” the government official said. Pleading anonymity, he said the three men died on the spot.

A local elder said the killing of the noted tribal elder, Malik Qadir Khan, had contributed to the concerns of the people in North Waziristan. “He was widely respected and had no enmity. We don’t know who would have done it,” he said.The government had given Malik Qadir Khan the status of the chief of Waziristan as he wielded considerable influence among the tribes.