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19 May 2014

Pakistan Launches Operation to Try to Clear Pakistani Taliban Fighters Out of Karachi

Operation to break Taliban concentration in Karachi

Muhammad Saleh Zaafir

The News International (Karachi)
May 15, 2014

ISLAMABAD: The concentration of the Taliban-related trained terrorists in Karachi has forced the government to step up the ongoing terrorist hunting operation in the largest city of the country.

The terrorists who were hiding in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) have spread due to the fear of a major operation clean-up in the tribal areas by the armed forces. Hardly, a few hardcore terrorists are present at their hideouts in the far-flung places of the tribal areas. The intelligence gathering agencies have told the government that majority of dislocated terrorists have already arrived in Karachi and they are in the process of settling down. Highly-placed sources told The News here on Wednesday evening that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif decided to hold the high-level meeting in Karachi in the wake of intelligence reports after consulting Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan on the subject.

He established contacts with the stakeholders of Karachi situation and invited them to the meeting. The sources said that a consensus had been built in the meeting that all the political parties would whole-heartedly support the freshly-shaped operation and they will exercise utmost care in handling the situation. Religious groups which are prepared to cooperate with the administration would also be contacted by the local administration, it was decided.

People who refrain from violent activities will be provided due protection and will not be harmed in any manner, the sources said. The meeting that discussed law and order in the city threadbare was attended by former President Asif Zardari, Sindh Governor Dr Ishratul Ebad Khan, Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah, Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar, Army Chief Gen Raheel Sharif, ANP Senator Shahi Syed, MQM leader Syed Haider Abbas Rizvi, Ameer Jamaat-e-Islami Karachi Hafiz Naeemur Rehman, DG ISI Lt Gen Zaheerul Islam, Corps Commander Karachi Lt Gen Sajjad Ghani, Secretary to the Prime Minister Javaid Aslam, Chief Secretary Sindh Sajjad Saleem Hotiana, Federal Secretary Interior Shahid Khan, Federal Secretary Law Zafarullah Khan, Director General Intelligence Bureau (IB) Aftab Sultan, DG Rangers Sindh Maj. General Rizwan Akhtar, DG ISPR Maj. General Asim Saleem Bajwa, acting IG Police Sindh Ghulam Haider Jamali, CCPO Karachi Shahid Hayat, Commissioner Karachi Shoaib Ahmad Siddiqui and other senior officers.

Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar told the meeting that state-of-the-art equipment was being provided to law enforcement agencies and 700,000 illegal mobile SIMS had been cancelled. He told the participants that once 3G mobile technology was in place, they will extend the crackdown against the illegal SIMS.

Chief of the Army Staff Gen Raheel Sharif said that Pak Army was ready to provide any kind of support to the federal and provincial governments with hundred percent honesty and sincerity. “We will give our honest opinion and assistance whenever sought from us,” he said. He also suggested that posting and transfers of police personnel should be depoliticised and also stressed upon the need to equip them with modern equipment and resources.

Asif Zardari said that the Sindh Police needed resources. He said support from all the political parties was the need of the hour to bring peace in Karachi. Chief Capital Police Officer Karachi told the participants that closure of illegal SIMs will reduce crimes by 50% and also assured that the police were acting against criminals without discrimination and that there was no political pressure on police. The presence of Gen Raheel Sharif, Lt Gen Zaheerel Islam and Lt Gen Sajjad Ghani in the meeting besides PM Nawaz enhanced the confidence of the authorities concerned in achieving their objectives, the sources said.

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