KHYBER: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi on Friday wondered who would guarantee peace after the conclusion of the recently launched military operation in Tirah area of Khyber tribal district and said decisions were still being made behind closed doors despite repeated failures.
Addressing the operation-affected families at the Paindi Cheena registration centre in Upper Bara, Mr Afridi said the military operation was forcibly launched to the suffering of residents. “I and my nation are being targeted for opposing such policies. We were never part of these failed policies and won’t be part of them in the future,” he said.
Mr Afridi said that 22 major and 14,000 small security operations had been carried out, so he just wondered who would guarantee the return of peace after the conclusion of another operation.
He said the PTI was declared the supporters of militants whenever it demanded a change of failed policies. Meanwhile, a statement from the chief minister’s secretariat quoted Mr Afridi as saying “what was happening” to the people of Tirah was unacceptable.
He said his government had always raised its voice for peace.
“I am one of you [residents] and will stand with you until my last breath,” he said.
Mr Afridi said that the protection of the affected people was his responsibility and any negligence in addressing the problems of the Tirah affected families would be intolerable. He ordered all relevant departments to take emergency measures to immediately alleviate the difficulties faced by the Tirah affected families and warned that stopping people and subjecting them to humiliation in queues would not be tolerated under any circumstances. The chief minister ordered the establishment of additional Nadra offices on an emergency basis to expedite the registration process. The visit to the registration centre came over the growing criticism of the administration’s failure to provide facilities to the displaced families from Tirah.
Hailing from the Shalobar tribe of Tirah, the CM was also criticised by people for visiting Karachi at a time when thousands of Tirah families were stranded on the main road between Tirah and Bara. Most families had to wait for days and spend sleepless nights in severe cold to get themselves registered for the promised monetary assistance.
Police in Paindi Cheena reportedly arrested eight people for demanding money from displaced families for early registration.
Sources said that detainees collected Rs2,000 from every family for providing them with fake registration tokens and identity cards.\
Pakistan ramps up military operations amid surge in violent attacks
By Abid Hussain
Islamabad, Pakistan – The Pakistani military has said it carried out major “intelligence-based operations” over the weekend, eliminating eight individuals in two separate incidents in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. It claimed the men killed in the operations were involved in violent activities.
In a statement released on Sunday, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) – the military’s media wing – said the operations took place in the Bannu and Khyber districts. Two military personnel were also killed in the operations.
The military’s actions against the armed groups come at a time when more and more Pakistanis are dying in a growing spate of violent attacks. According to the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies (PICSS), there were at least 71 attacks by armed groups in November, most of which took place in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, with security forces reporting the deaths of at least 127 fighters.
The number of attacks in 2024 has already surpassed last year’s total, with more than 856 incidents recorded until November compared with 645 in 2023. These attacks resulted in more than 1,000 deaths, including those of civilians and law enforcement personnel.
One of the deadliest attacks took place on November 9, when a suicide bomber detonated explosives at a railway station in Quetta, the capital of Balochistan province. Nearly 30 people were killed, including civilians and soldiers waiting for their trains.
The Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), a separatist group fighting for the independence of resource-rich Balochistan, claimed responsibility for the attack. The BLA has long waged an armed rebellion against the Pakistani government, alleging that Islamabad unfairly exploits the province’s natural resources, particularly its gas and minerals… Source: Dawn.com
