Islamabad to take up issue with New Delhi; sights now on Srarogha as Kaniguram secured
By Muhammad Anis
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has found concrete evidence of India’s involvement behind the trouble in South Waziristan Agency (SWA) and would take up the matter with the Indian government.
This was stated by Director General Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Maj-Gen Athar Abbas at a joint media briefing with Information Minister Qamar Zaman Kaira on the ongoing operation Rah-e-Nijat here on Monday.
It merits mentioning here that it is for the first time that Pakistan has categorically said about India’s hand behind militancy in South Waziristan. General Abbas said a huge quantity of Indian arms and ammunition, literature, medical equipment and medicines have been recovered from the Sherwangai area near Kaniguram.
He said the Foreign Office had been informed and the matter would be taken up with the Indian authorities through diplomatic channels. The military spokesman said security forces have completely secured the control of Kaniguram. He said there were fortified positions and bunkers in the area being used by the militants to target security forces. He said the entire area had been cleared of mines and improvised explosive devices (IEDs). He said five truckloads of arms and ammunition have been recovered from the area on Monday.
The DG ISPR further claimed that Karama village in East of Kaniguram was also in control of the troops.
General Abbas said the operation was progressing according to the plan and the armed militants were defeated on all fronts. However, he pointed out that it was not clear that the top leadership of the Taliban had fled to North Waziristan or was still in the area.
The military spokesman said the militants were effectively been dislodged from their hideouts which meant they stood disorganised now. “If they are dislodged, we will be moving very close to victory,” he remarked.
Answering a question about the closure of some half a dozen security check-posts by the US-led Nato forces in Afghanistan close to Pakistan’s border, he said: “We have been told that it was re-adjustment of the posts.” He said Pakistan had sought information on the ìre-adjustmentî of posts as closure of posts in certain sensitive areas will certainly affect the ongoing military operation.
He rejected the notion that the prior announcements about an impending operation in South Waziristan gave time to the militants to be ready for it, saying that security forces kept on making preparations for the offensive while aerial strikes were being conducted.
On the Razmak-Makeen axis, he said, security forces are consolidating their positions on the ridges, along the Razmak-Makeen road. The important village of Cheena, just adjacent to Makeen, has been secured, he claimed.
Information Minister Qamar Zaman Kaira, while responding to a question about the reports that US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton during her recent visit urged Pakistan to launch operation in North Waziristan and Balochistan, said Pakistan was not bound by advises given to it.
Answering another question, he said the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) chief’s visit to Saudi Arabia was part of bilateral contacts on different levels maintained by the two brotherly countries. He said General Ahmad Shuja Pasha’s visit had nothing to do with the domestic politics of Pakistan.
The minister said while it had been decided to raise the issue of South Waziristan unrest with India, Pakistan would not deviate from the peace process aimed at resolving lingering disputes between the two countries.
APP adds: Kaira said terrorists in South Waziristan have been surrounded from all sides and there is no chance for them to escape in large numbers. He said the entire nation is extending complete support to security forces engaged in purging the country of terrorists, who are targeting the civilian population out of desperation.
Condemning the Rawalpindi blast, he said people of Pakistan, the government and armed forces are committed to eliminating terrorists who are trying to harass the people through cowardly acts.
ìThe successes of the military operations in Swat and now in South Waziristan speak volumes about the professional capabilities of the armed forces,î he said. The minister said 45,138 displaced families of South Waziristan have been registered so far. The records of remaining families are currently being scrutinised by the National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra), he said.
Our Wana/Peshawar correspondents add: After seizing control of Kaniguram, security forces are reportedly advancing on Srarogha. Official sources said Srarogha was under siege from four sides and was likely to fall in the next 24 hours.
Military officials said a dozen militants were killed and six Army soldiers suffered injuries in two separate engagements with the militants in Srarogha and Kaniguram. Local sources said the troops continued house-to-house search for militants and their secret training facilities and hideouts in Kaniguram. They said a huge quantity of explosives was recovered during a search operation in upper part of the Kaniguram town.
The political administration officials said the troops in another sector moved towards Ladha on Monday. One official said the village of Malak Shahi had been captured after the seizure of Tauda Cheena. The troops, he said, had advanced to the Tehsil building in Ladha.
The ISPR statement said the military expanded its positions on ridges from different directions towards Srarogha. It said the militants were firing mortars and small arms at the troops from time to time. Four militants were killed and six soldiers injured in a clash in the same area, it added. The troops also conducted operations in Shin Sar, Guru Sar and Mangora Sar.
According to the ISPR, eight militants were killed in clashes with the Army troops. Nowadays there is no comment from the Taliban, who refuted the Army claims in the first week of the operation and insisted that only three of their men had been killed.
[The News]
Posted on 03 Nov 2009 by
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