FW: Rumors regarding the North Waziristan operation
salman javed
Wasalam,
Salman Javed,
Date: Wed, 1 Jun 2011 09:50:38 -0700
Subject: Rumors regarding the North Waziristan operation
From: saadbins...@gmail.com
To: fortres...@googlegroups.com
'No operation in North Waziristan'
ISLAMABAD: Officials of the Foreign Affairs and Interior ministries on Wednesday said that the government and military have not taken a decision on conducting an operation in North Waziristan.
Express 24/7 correspondent, Sumera Khan reported officials of the two ministries were giving an in-camera briefing to the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, with Awami National Party (ANP) chief Asfandyar Wali chairing the meeting. Other parliamentarians present at the meeting included Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz (PML-N) senator Ishaq Dar and ANP senator Afrasyab Khattak.
The briefing was being given on speculations and rumors regarding the North Waziristan operation, which had earlier been reported in the media. Officials told committee members that Pakistan currently lacked resources for carrying out the operation.
They also said that the ministries were in touch with the military and so far no information on any such operation had been given to them.
Corps Commander Peshawar condemns ’hype’
Corps Commander Peshawar Lieutenant General Asif Yasin Malik played down “media hype” over the prospect of an imminent military offensive to meet US interests in North Waziristan.
“There has been a lot of media hype about the operation,” said Malik in the Mohamad Gat area of tribal district Mohmand, where the military flew reporters to show apparent progress in battles against the Taliban.
He told reporters: “We will undertake operation in North Waziristan when we want to.”
“We will undertake such an operation when it is in our national interest militarily,” the general said, describing North Waziristan as “calm and peaceful as it was weeks ago”.
Asked whether there was a need for such an operation, he said only: “Maybe ultimately we will go to North Waziristan”.
An earlier report in The News stated that Pakistan had decided to launch an air and ground military offensive in North Waziristan, the main sanctuary for al Qaeda and Taliban on the border with Afghanistan.
The News had quoted unnamed “highly placed sources” as saying Pakistani airforce planes would soften up militant targets under the “targeted military offensive” before ground operations were launched. The report said an understanding had been reached over the offensive during last week’s visit by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
The United States has long demanded that Pakistan launch an offensive in the region to hunt down the Haqqani network, one of the deadliest Afghan militant factions fighting American troops in Afghanistan.
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