During a press conference at the General Headquarters (GHQ), the military spokesman said that Ehsanullah Ehsan before joining Jamaat-ul-Ahrar was the spokesperson for the TTP.
Jamaat-ul-Ahrar was behind the horrific attack on Lahore's Mall Road earlier this year, which sent shock waves throughout the country. Thirteen people were killed and over 100 others injured in the attack, which targeted senior police officials.
On the progress made in the Operation Raadul Fasaad, Major General Ghafoor said that the country's security situation improved to the point that the people who had been planning attacks on Pakistan's soil from across the border have started to see that the situation has changed.
The DG ISPR said the operation was launched on February 22 last. Fifteen major operations were carried out under the operation in which 4,510 suspects were arrested, 1,859 unregistered Afghan nationals were arrested, 4,083 illegal weapons were confiscated, while 558 people surrendered themselves to the security forces.
Eight major operations were carried out in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, four in Balochistan, while two were conducted in Punjab in which hundreds of suspects were arrested. Responding to a question regarding slow pace of operation in Karachi, the DG said that the nature of operation being carried out in the metropolitan is different. About the cease-fire violations by India, he said that on the border, 222 breaches have been reported in the current year. India is committing ceasefire violations to divert attention from the situation in occupied Kashmir.
About the use of the Mother Of All Bombs (MOAB) in Afghanistan, Major General Asif Ghafoor said that the attack reflects the US commitment against the Daesh. The DG ISPR said that work on fencing along the Pak-Afghan border is continuing and under the first phase country's border linking its Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province with Afghanistan will be fenced. In the second phase, Balochistan's border with Afghanistan will be fenced. He said that 100 kilometres area in the Bajaur Agency will be fenced.
The DG also said that Pakistan Army would react to the Dawn Leaks once the findings of the inquiry report are made public. Under the mandate given to the inquiry committee, there was no clause regarding consensus among all committee members, he said. He further suggested media persons to ask the question from Minister for Interior Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2017