Operation launched in Khyber Agency
PESHAWAR: The paramilitary Frontier Corps (FC) on Saturday launched an operation against so-called militant groups in the Khyber Agency to secure Peshawar from any incursion.Frontier Corps Inspector General (IG), Major General Mohammad Alam Khattak, hoped the operation would be completed within four to five days. “We have taken control of the areas. Curfew has been imposed there since Saturday morning and will continue till the accomplishment of the task,” the head of the FC told newsmen during a briefing.Supporters of the mainstream Mangal Bagh-led Lashkar-i-Islam (LI), Ansarul Islam (AI) of Qazi Mahboob and Amr Bilmaroof wa Nahi Anilmunkar of Haji Namdar did not offer any resistance to the heavy contingents of paramilitary forces when they moved in with tanks and
Operation launched in Khyber Agency
PESHAWAR: The paramilitary Frontier Corps (FC) on Saturday launched an operation against so-called militant groups in the Khyber Agency to secure Peshawar from any incursion.Frontier Corps Inspector General (IG), Major General Mohammad Alam Khattak, hoped the operation would be completed within four to five days. “We have taken control of the areas. Curfew has been imposed there since Saturday morning and will continue till the accomplishment of the task,” the head of the FC told newsmen during a briefing.Supporters of the mainstream Mangal Bagh-led Lashkar-i-Islam (LI), Ansarul Islam (AI) of Qazi Mahboob and Amr Bilmaroof wa Nahi Anilmunkar of Haji Namdar did not offer any resistance to the heavy contingents of paramilitary forces when they moved in with tanks and armoured personnel carriers (APCs) to take over strongholds of the groups in Bara subdivision of the Khyber Agency, located 15 kilometers from here. Choppers were also hovering over the area to provide cover to the ground forces. An alleged militant, Shoaib, was killed and two FC men were injured in a brief skirmish that took place at Gandao check-post in the Akakhel area. The members of these groups in the rest of the areas fled their hideouts before forces arrived there. The security forces destroyed the residence of LI top commander, Mangal Bagh, in Sepah area with explosives while the headquarters of the outfit in Shalobar and another centre in Akahkhel were razed to the ground. The house of the leader of Ansarul Islam, Pir Saifur Rahman, was also destroyed by unidentified people. Ansarul Islam and Lashkar-i-Islam have been fighting against each other in remote Tirah valley for the past several days, killing dozens of people and leaving several others injured. Mangal Bagh claims to have over 100,000 volunteers, a claim disputed by the authorities. His organisation, which has established a parallel administration in Bara and carried out actions in Peshawar, is not part of the Baitullah Mahsud’s Tehrik-i-Taliban, Pakistan, which on Saturday announced pulling out of the agreement with the government after threats of operation by the authorities. There were reports that other hideouts of the militants were also demolished in the area when artillery targeted these locations in different areas. The main Bara bazaar and other markets remained closed as unannounced curfew was clamped on the town before the operation was kicked off. People remained confined to their homes while the rest preferred to shift to safe places.A large number of residents of different parts of Hayatabad Township, living close to the Khyber Agency, also started moving towards safer places for fear of possible attack on the locality in retaliation. Three phases of the township and the main industrial estate of the province are located at a walking distance from the Khyber Agency.Inspector General Frontier Corps Mohammad Alam Khattak told newsmen at the FC headquarters in historical Balahisar Fort that the operation was not against any specific group but it had been launched to eliminate criminal gangs, which were creating law and order problem. “We want to complete the task within 4/5 days. Measures are being taken to ensure minimum casualties during the action against these groups,” remarked the FC chief. The official said that the police and Frontier Constabulary were part of the operation and had been deployed in rural parts of the provincial capital to maintain law and order at a time when the FC would be carrying out crackdown against criminal gangs. Foreign embassies in Islamabad have directed their citizens to restrict their movement in the federal and provincial capitals to forestall any untoward incident. Security around sensitive buildings and installations was further beefed up after the operation started.Frontier Inspector General of Police (IGP) Malik Naveed Khan said appropriate steps had been taken to ensure peace and security in Peshawar. “The so-called threat from criminal elements to Peshawar has been eliminated, thanks to an effective paramilitary operation in the adjoining Bara tribal area,” opined the police chief. The top security official said that an effective security cordon had been thrown around the city to assure the citizens that the government would do its utmost to protect their life, property and honour.A state of emergency had already been declared in Peshawar hospitals and large contingents of the Frontier Corps, the Frontier Constabulary and police commandoes were moved to the city parameters close to the tribal areas on Friday night. More cops were also withdrawn from urban police stations and directed to report to Matani, Mathra, Sarband and Badaber police stations, having areas close to troubled Darra Adamkhel, Bara and Mohmand Agency. People fear a strong reaction from certain elements in Matani, Darra Adamkhel, Michni and Mathra if an operation was launched against them in these areas as well as nearby Darra Adamkhel and Mohmand Agency. Peshawar is surrounded by Khyber Agency from the west, Darra Adamkhel from the south and Mohmand Agency from the north. Authorities in Peshawar have put in place a complete security plan to protect the city from any incursion by militant outfits. This entails deployment of over 1,000 Frontier Constabulary men, over 400 cops of the Frontier Reserve Police (FRP) and 200 men of the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) in Matani, Badhber, Sheikhan, Sarband, Regi, Hayatabad and other adjacent towns.Policemen in vehicles fitted with sophisticated weapons have been directed to be vigilant, keep gas guns and patrol the turbulent areas in more than one van. The drivers have been directed not to switch on revolving lights in vulnerable villages.Meanwhile, Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) chief Baitullah Mehsud on Saturday announced halt to peace negotiations with the government to protest operation against a militant commander, Haji Mangal Bagh, in Khyber Agency.In an apparent bid to win over the support of Mangal Bagh, head of Lashkar-i-Islam (LI) organisation in the Khyber tribal agency and to prevent security forces from launching operation in Jandola village in frontier region (FR)-Tank, Baituallah said TTP won’t participate in the peace talks unless all the operations in the tribal belt were stopped.Mangal Bagh, who has been rolling the dice in Khyber Agency for the last five years, told The News that there was no possibility of his organisation joining hands with the TTP.The TTP chief had threatened to end the peace talks and scrap accords if the government did not stop action against the Taliban and went ahead with launching fresh military operations in the settled areas of the NWFP and in Fata.Through his spokesman Maulvi Omar, he said in a statement conveyed to ‘The News’ on Friday last that the Taliban were not planning an attack on Peshawar. He accused the government of sponsoring propaganda about an impending attack on the city to justify new military operations against the Taliban.Security forces, backed by gunship helicopters, armoured personnel carriers (APCs), tanks and artillery, have also entered Jandola village of FR-Tank, the gateway to the South Waziristan Agency, for a possible operation after a pro-government peace committee was attacked by the Taliban.“We are suspending peace talks with the government because the government is constantly using force against us,” he told various media organisation from an undisclosed location via his satellite phone and alleged that the government was not showing any seriousness.In his reaction, Mangal Bagh told ‘The News’ from Sandal Pal, a remote area of Tirah valley, that the operation in the Khyber Agency was uncalled for and would only harm the ordinary tribesmen.He believed that he did not do anything wrong and the powers he was exercising were in accordance with the tribal traditions and with the support of the tribesmen.He said that his organisation never acted against security agencies nor would it retaliate to the current operation launched against them. “I have told LI volunteers to go home and not to resist any action of the FC (Frontier Corps),” he said, adding that he was at a loss as to whom were the security forces operating against.“All my volunteers belong to this place (Khyber Agency). I have neither any foreigner in my folds nor is my organisation linked to any outfit beyond Khyber Agency. Would they resort to killing innocent tribesmen?” he asked.He said that at least eight of his compounds, including his residence, were bombed by the security forces. “These buildings served as places for easy and quick dispensation of justice to the tribesmen. These were never used for any illegal activity,” he said.
armoured personnel carriers (APCs) to take over strongholds of the groups in Bara subdivision of the Khyber Agency, located 15 kilometers from here. Choppers were also hovering over the area to provide cover to the ground forces. An alleged militant, Shoaib, was killed and two FC men were injured in a brief skirmish that took place at Gandao check-post in the Akakhel area. The members of these groups in the rest of the areas fled their hideouts before forces arrived there. The security forces destroyed the residence of LI top commander, Mangal Bagh, in Sepah area with explosives while the headquarters of the outfit in Shalobar and another centre in Akahkhel were razed to the ground. The house of the leader of Ansarul Islam, Pir Saifur Rahman, was also destroyed by unidentified people. Ansarul Islam and Lashkar-i-Islam have been fighting against each other in remote Tirah valley for the past several days, killing dozens of people and leaving several others injured. Mangal Bagh claims to have over 100,000 volunteers, a claim disputed by the authorities. His organisation, which has established a parallel administration in Bara and carried out actions in Peshawar, is not part of the Baitullah Mahsud’s Tehrik-i-Taliban, Pakistan, which on Saturday announced pulling out of the agreement with the government after threats of operation by the authorities. There were reports that other hideouts of the militants were also demolished in the area when artillery targeted these locations in different areas. The main Bara bazaar and other markets remained closed as unannounced curfew was clamped on the town before the operation was kicked off. People remained confined to their homes while the rest preferred to shift to safe places.A large number of residents of different parts of Hayatabad Township, living close to the Khyber Agency, also started moving towards safer places for fear of possible attack on the locality in retaliation. Three phases of the township and the main industrial estate of the province are located at a walking distance from the Khyber Agency.Inspector General Frontier Corps Mohammad Alam Khattak told newsmen at the FC headquarters in historical Balahisar Fort that the operation was not against any specific group but it had been launched to eliminate criminal gangs, which were creating law and order problem. “We want to complete the task within 4/5 days. Measures are being taken to ensure minimum casualties during the action against these groups,” remarked the FC chief. The official said that the police and Frontier Constabulary were part of the operation and had been deployed in rural parts of the provincial capital to maintain law and order at a time when the FC would be carrying out crackdown against criminal gangs. Foreign embassies in Islamabad have directed their citizens to restrict their movement in the federal and provincial capitals to forestall any untoward incident. Security around sensitive buildings and installations was further beefed up after the operation started.Frontier Inspector General of Police (IGP) Malik Naveed Khan said appropriate steps had been taken to ensure peace and security in Peshawar. “The so-called threat from criminal elements to Peshawar has been eliminated, thanks to an effective paramilitary operation in the adjoining Bara tribal area,” opined the police chief. The top security official said that an effective security cordon had been thrown around the city to assure the citizens that the government would do its utmost to protect their life, property and honour.A state of emergency had already been declared in Peshawar hospitals and large contingents of the Frontier Corps, the Frontier Constabulary and police commandoes were moved to the city parameters close to the tribal areas on Friday night. More cops were also withdrawn from urban police stations and directed to report to Matani, Mathra, Sarband and Badaber police stations, having areas close to troubled Darra Adamkhel, Bara and Mohmand Agency. People fear a strong reaction from certain elements in Matani, Darra Adamkhel, Michni and Mathra if an operation was launched against them in these areas as well as nearby Darra Adamkhel and Mohmand Agency. Peshawar is surrounded by Khyber Agency from the west, Darra Adamkhel from the south and Mohmand Agency from the north. Authorities in Peshawar have put in place a complete security plan to protect the city from any incursion by militant outfits. This entails deployment of over 1,000 Frontier Constabulary men, over 400 cops of the Frontier Reserve Police (FRP) and 200 men of the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) in Matani, Badhber, Sheikhan, Sarband, Regi, Hayatabad and other adjacent towns.Policemen in vehicles fitted with sophisticated weapons have been directed to be vigilant, keep gas guns and patrol the turbulent areas in more than one van. The drivers have been directed not to switch on revolving lights in vulnerable villages.Meanwhile, Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) chief Baitullah Mehsud on Saturday announced halt to peace negotiations with the government to protest operation against a militant commander, Haji Mangal Bagh, in Khyber Agency.In an apparent bid to win over the support of Mangal Bagh, head of Lashkar-i-Islam (LI) organisation in the Khyber tribal agency and to prevent security forces from launching operation in Jandola village in frontier region (FR)-Tank, Baituallah said TTP won’t participate in the peace talks unless all the operations in the tribal belt were stopped.Mangal Bagh, who has been rolling the dice in Khyber Agency for the last five years, told The News that there was no possibility of his organisation joining hands with the TTP.The TTP chief had threatened to end the peace talks and scrap accords if the government did not stop action against the Taliban and went ahead with launching fresh military operations in the settled areas of the NWFP and in Fata.Through his spokesman Maulvi Omar, he said in a statement conveyed to ‘The News’ on Friday last that the Taliban were not planning an attack on Peshawar. He accused the government of sponsoring propaganda about an impending attack on the city to justify new military operations against the Taliban.Security forces, backed by gunship helicopters, armoured personnel carriers (APCs), tanks and artillery, have also entered Jandola village of FR-Tank, the gateway to the South Waziristan Agency, for a possible operation after a pro-government peace committee was attacked by the Taliban.“We are suspending peace talks with the government because the government is constantly using force against us,” he told various media organisation from an undisclosed location via his satellite phone and alleged that the government was not showing any seriousness.In his reaction, Mangal Bagh told ‘The News’ from Sandal Pal, a remote area of Tirah valley, that the operation in the Khyber Agency was uncalled for and would only harm the ordinary tribesmen.He believed that he did not do anything wrong and the powers he was exercising were in accordance with the tribal traditions and with the support of the tribesmen.He said that his organisation never acted against security agencies nor would it retaliate to the current operation launched against them. “I have told LI volunteers to go home and not to resist any action of the FC (Frontier Corps),” he said, adding that he was at a loss as to whom were the security forces operating against.“All my volunteers belong to this place (Khyber Agency). I have neither any foreigner in my folds nor is my organisation linked to any outfit beyond Khyber Agency. Would they resort to killing innocent tribesmen?” he asked.He said that at least eight of his compounds, including his residence, were bombed by the security forces. “These buildings served as places for easy and quick dispensation of justice to the tribesmen. These were never used for any illegal activity,” he said.
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