Friday, September 20, 2013

First phase about to end, says Nisar Karachi operation

The News 20 September 2013 ISLAMABAD: Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan on Thursday told the National Assembly (NA) that the first phase of the Karachi operation was nearing its end and the second and third phases would be harsher. The government also acknowledged that a status quo prevailed over the proposed talks with the Taliban after they martyred Maj Gen Sanaullah Khan and other officers of Pakistan Army.“This incident is a serious setback to initiatives of peace talks,” said Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan while speaking in the National Assembly (NA). He requested the political parties not to politicise the Upper Dir incident. “Don’t give us advice now. The proper forum to offer advice was the APC. Such statements now will only create confusion,” he said. He said the government would consult military and political parties about talks with the Taliban. He said national sovereignty and dignity would be upheld at all costs. He said it would be a sin to politicise this issue. “Anybody playing politics on this will expose himself,” he said.He eulogised the services of martyred Major Gen Sanaullah Khan saying that he was not only a brave general but also a soldier who preferred to remain on the frontline. The interior minister denied any link of the Mohajir Republican Army (MRA) with the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM). “Intelligence reports point out the link of MRA with some other entity and not the MQM,” he said. Nisar said anti-state actors responsible for destabilising the country would not be allowed to stay in the country. He said terrorists from Karachi had started moving to other places. He said since the start of the targeted operation in Karachi, over 250 terrorists had entered North Waziristan in small groups. “The terrorists in Karachi are on the run but they will find no place to hide and will be brought to justice,” he added.He said the toll of target killings in Karachi had substantially come down to a single digit, however, it was only the beginning. He said the first phase of the operation was going to end soon but the second and third phases would be crucial. He lauded the efforts of all the political parties to evolve a consensus on the operation being carried out in Karachi and said without realisation of collective responsibility, success was not possible. Nisar said things were moving in the right direction under the captaincy of Sindh chief minister. He said the Rangers had got remarkable successes in the first phase of the targeted operation that was still going on. He said that the operation would be intensified in the second and third phases.He said the Rangers had carried out 400 targeted actions in Karachi and had arrested a number of target killers and other suspects.

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