Our Nation's Leaders Take Action

A couple of days ago Chief of Army Staff General Parvez Kayani told the press that the peace deal is just a try to get the taliban to lay down their arms and bring peace to the area and if that is not achieved then the army would take action to protect it's country and it's people. And now Rehman Malik [Adviser to Prime Minister on Interior Affairs] stated the same thing. Rehman Malik also pointed out the toy bombing that happened in Dir. Our security forces took action a few days ago on request of the provincial government and people and began fighting the militants in lower Dir. They have taken control of Lal Qila and have killed numerous militants including a top commander. Throughout the fighting one of our brave security personnel was martyred. May God bless his soul and our people remember his sacrifice for his country and most importantly ISLAM. I feel very proud and happy today as things are going on the right track. Below are some articles you can check out if you want more details.

Security Forces Gain Control of Lal Qila

LOWER DIR: Security forces have seized control of the Lal Qila after fierce gunbatlle with militants in an ongoing operation in Lower Dir on Sunday. According to sources, security forces have entered the Lal Qila. On the other hand, intense firing is underway between militants and FC troops at Kala Daag and Islam Pura. Meanwhile, ISPR said in a statement that Frontier Corps have launched operation against militants in Dir on the request of the provincial government and people. Earlier in the day, security forces targeted suspected militants’ hideouts situated in Lal Qila and Islam Pura, killing a large number of militants, including a top commander. While one security personnel was also martyred in the operation.

Source: Geo News

Handful of Taliban Can't Dismiss State Writ

ISLAMABAD: Advisor to Prime Minister on Interior Affairs Rehman Malik Sunday said operation in Lower Dir is not being carried out on pressure from the US administration and that a handful of Taliban cannot set aside government writ. Talking to Geo News, Malik said that the operation was initiated in Lower Dir on the request of NWFP government and that in it many militants have so far been killed. “The aim of the deal with Sufi Muhammad was to establish peace in the area and if this objective is not achieved then it is of no use,” the Advisor said adding “it was later felt that the agreement was not for peace.” “The militants have shown their hideous face and now they will not be forgiven,” he vowed. He said in the beginning the terrorists used youngsters for executing suicide attacks and now they are killing children by handing them toy bombs. It seems the militants have their own subversive agenda, he observed. The Advisor said the Taliban have no other option left than to lay down arms. If they fail to disarm themselves we will take action, he warned.

Source: Geo News

Gen Kayani vows to come down hard on militants

ISLAMABAD: As fears of an imminent march of the Taliban militants beyond the Malakand region caused shudders within and outside the country, Chief of Army Staff Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani on Friday rejected the notion that the peace deal through Sufi Mohammad amounted to giving any ‘concession’ to the armed Islamists, and declared that not only the Army had the resolve to take on the militants but, according to him, ‘victory against terror and militancy will be achieved at all costs’. Speaking at a meeting of top military commanders, including those directly dealing with militancy in Fata and the North-West Frontier Province, at the General Headquarters in Rawalpindi, the army chief acknowledged that doubts were being voiced about the intent and capability of the army to defeat the militants. But, he added, the army ‘never has and never will hesitate to sacrifice, whatever it may take, to ensure safety and well-being of the people and country’s territorial integrity’. This is by far the most direct statement yet by Gen Kayani, or any other military or civilian official, about the prevailing situation and the manner in which it needs to be tackled. The statement came in the wake of reports from Swat’s adjoining district Buner, and later Shangla, of the Taliban march into the area, with clear signs the armed Islamists were trying to spread tentacles under the cover of a peace deal. The army chief’s remarks coincide with reports emanating from the outskirts of Malakand division about movement of the Frontier Corps troops and even military battalions, leaving little doubt that the army is determined to launch yet another major operation, either to eliminate the militants or to at least push them out of Buner and districts other than Swat. However, sources said, a military operation would be launched only after a clearance by the provincial and federal governments. In his statement, the army chief was quite clear about ground realities. He condemned ‘pronouncements’ by outside powers that raised doubts about the future of Pakistan and declared that the militants would not be allowed to ‘dictate terms to the government or impose their way of life on the civil society of Pakistan’. ‘A country of 170 million resilient people under a democratic dispensation, strongly supported by the army, is capable of handling any crisis that it may confront,’ an ISPR press release quoted him as saying. He reassured the people that with their support the army was determined to root out the menace of terrorism. He described the recent peace deal with Maulana Fazlullah’s Swat-based militants as an ‘operational pause’ that was meant to give the ‘reconciliatory forces’ a chance, but declared that it ‘must not be taken for a concession to militants’. Observers here see the statement by the army chief as a clear message to militants to either lay down arms or be ready for another round of battle with the army, which this time probably would be more vigorous. The statement came at a time when the Swat Taliban have made advances to areas adjoining Swat, dashing hopes that the enforcement of Nizam-i-Adl would lead to restoration of peace. Some sources in the security establishment say the army is insisting that since the militants have gone back on their pledge and have even tried to misuse the concessions given to them, nothing short of a public surrender can guarantee a lasting peace in Malakand division. A similar message has been sent to the Buner Taliban through the Sufi Mohammed-led Tehrik-i-Nifaz-i-Shariat-i-Mohammadi. Concerns were expressed at international level over the Swat peace deal and a possible advance of Taliban to the federal capital. President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and federal ministers have indicated in recent days that the Swat peace deal will be reversed and other options will be exercised if the accord did not yield positive results and the wave Talibanisation continued. The COAS praised the army men for continuing to fight under challenging conditions, assuring that safety of the people and the country would be ensured at all costs.

Source: Dawn News