LAKKI MARWAT/PESHAWAR: The Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) center in Bannu remained under the control of the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militants on Monday, continuing the standoff between the security forces and TTP.
After stealing investigators’ weapons and holding a number of law enforcement personnel hostage late Sunday, the militants in the CTD center took control of the building. Additionally, they had fired at the security guards, reportedly wounding a CTD man and a soldier. The terrorists had requested a secure route to Afghanistan.
The negotiations with the militants for the release of the hostages have not progressed in the last 24 hours. According to an official source, the standoff continued with the militants who had taken over the compound and there was “no breakthrough in negotiations.” The liberation of the hostages from militant captivity is the top priority,” the source added.
Sources said that law enforcement agencies have decided to hire a cleric from the city’s Domail neighborhood, Maulana Ahmadullah, to end the situation.
The TTP agents who had taken CTD officials and other inmates as captives will require the clergyman to argue with them.
In the meantime, tensions persisted in the district that borders North Waziristan. The CTD compound’s cantonment area remained sealed as police and security forces increased security and instructed residents to remain inside.
Additionally, the compound had been cordoned off. Additionally, the roads leading to the cantonment area were closed, and police were stationed in the vicinity, according to a local. According to a different resident, fear persisted in the area and the situation was tense. Our concerns have been exacerbated by the standoff and social media reports and videos of the compound, he stated.
According to the official source, in addition to tightening their checks of people and vehicles on picket lines, police had increased their patrols of the area. In light of the unstable state of law and order, security forces also imposed a curfew on the roads that lead to Bannu city and North Waziristan. In the meantime, the deputy commissioner stated that all government and private educational establishments in Bannu would remain closed on Tuesday, December 20, in light of the precarious situation in the city.
TTP statement
The TTP has claimed responsibility for the attack on the compound, stating in a statement that its members had taken hostages from several CTD and security personnel. The group’s spokesperson stated in a statement that the hostage takers had requested a safe exit in a previous video statement, but they had erroneously mentioned Afghanistan due to their ignorance of local circumstances. He claimed that the group communicated with government officials over the course of the night and requested that the prisoners be transferred to either South or North Waziristan.
In addition, earlier in the day, the militants inside the seized CTD center released a number of videos in which they asked the people of Bannu, particularly the ulema, to come forward and negotiate a solution to the standoff between them and the authorities.
In a video cut, a prisoner proclaimed himself ‘blameless’ and expressed alongside the Taliban assailants and authorities kidnapped by the assailants, a few honest people were likewise present inside the compound.
He stated in the video that Bannu’s elders and ulema should intervene to prevent bloodshed and peacefully end the standoff. The army and people are ours, and the Taliban wanted to kill people outside the compound, but we stopped them,” he continued. Several armed militants were seen roaming the compound and establishing positions in another video. In the video, a militant who could not be seen said that his “Mujahideen companions were ready.” He was heard in the video asking them not to hurt anyone in the CTD center or damage vehicles.
Commander Zarrar, who had been in custody, was one of the people in a video that was released from the CTD Center in Bannu. Despite being in custody since January 2022, it was still unclear what Zarrar was doing in the CTD center even though his group had merged with TTP.
‘Warning to militants’
Barrister Muhammad Ali Saif, an aide to the KP CM, told the militants in Peshawar that the government would not comply with any of their demands and urged them to lay down their arms, threatening severe retaliation in the event of noncompliance.
The CTD Center was not attacked from the outside. He claimed that the situation in Bannu was under control, adding, “Some under-custody militants snatched weapons from investigators and took a few police personnel hostages.”
In addition, the statement stated that the militants intended to share videos on social media in order to gain public support. It is better in the event that these individuals set down arms, generally severe move will be made against them,” the assertion cited the consultant as saying.
ANP, PTI statements
Imran Khan, whose party is in power in KP, is the chairman of the PTI. He said that the federal government didn’t do enough to stop terrorism. This imported government has failed to deal with the 50% increase in terrorism in Pakistan, resulting in incidents from Chaman to Swat to Lakki Marwat to Bannu. This is in addition to running our economy to the ground.
“They have also failed to deal with attacks from the international Pak-Afghan border by security forces of a ‘friendly’ Afghan government,” the former prime minister wrote in a tweet.
He continued, “The worst part is that this increasing terrorist threat and attacks from across our Western border are finding no space in the discourse of this government of a cabal of crooks, while our soldiers, police, and local people are giving daily sacrifices with their lives.”
Apart from running our economy to the ground, this Imported govt has failed to deal with the 50% increase in terrorism in Pak with incidents from Chaman to Swat to Lakki Marwat to Bannu; They have also failed to deal with attacks from the international Pak-Afghan border by
— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) December 19, 2022
Aimal Wali Khan, president of the Awami National Party (ANP) in KP, criticized the PTI-led government for allegedly attempting to weaken the police and CTD in order to prevent effective action against militants.
The ANP leader said at a press conference that Punjab was experiencing fewer terrorism incidents than KP because of the effectiveness of CTD. On the one hand, the CTD was kept in a weak state, and on the other, the PTI government started talks with the TTP and brought terrorists from Afghanistan to KP, he claimed. According to him, the action of “repatriating terrorists: was intended to remove its political rivals from the political arena through violence while protecting the PTI leadership.
Report Originally published on Dawn News
