RAWALPINDI: Chief of Army Staff General Raheel Sharif has ordered intelligence agencies to carry out combing operations across the country in a bid to enhance offensive against terrorists, ARY News reported.
His orders came in a meeting, attended by commander southern command and others, following the deadly Quetta blast.
“The terror strike in Quetta was an attempt by anti-state forces to sabotage China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC)”, he said.
The army chief said intelligence agencies could go anywhere in the country to catch suspects linked with the terror attacks.
He said terrorists were now moving to Balochistan, after having been defeated in Khyber Pakhtonkhwa.
Gen Sharif said terrorists were undermining improved security in Balochistan, and especially targeting the CPEC.
He ordered to deploy all resources to control the situation. Earlier, he visited the Civil Hospital Quetta and offered condolences to the injured persons.
At least 63 people were killed and dozens wounded today when an explosion ripped through a crowd of mourners at civil hospital in Quetta.
The blast in the Balochistan provincial capital Quetta came as up to 200 people gathered at the Civil Hospital after the fatal shooting of a senior local lawyer.
Video footage showed bodies strewn on the ground, some still smoking, among pools of blood and shattered glass as shocked survivors cried and comforted one another.
What are combing operations?
Combing operations are relatively different from intelligence-based operations, where security forces acted on specific intelligence information about a terrorist threat.
The combing operations would be led by the army, but would involve different security forces, including civilian law enforcement agencies.
Earlier, it was reported that military has already done its mapping of trouble spots to launch combing operations. “These would be scattered operations involving large force size.”
