ISLAMABAD: Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan informed the National Assembly on Friday that no military operation had been launched in Fata and only precision attacks were being launched to target the militants’ hideouts.
“Neither any operation is going on in the troubled tribal areas nor any decision has so far been taken in this regard,” said Nisar. However, he said if the government decided to launch an operation, it will take two to three weeks to operate against the militants.
The minister said any decision about an operation in North Waziristan would be taken after consultation with the political groups.“There should be no confusion that a military operation has been started in North Waziristan or other troubled areas,” the minister said categorically while responding to a point of order.
He said no decision could be taken secretly about the operation because it would require the movement of forces to the troubled areas.The minister also assured the House of taking care of internally displaced persons (IDPs) who were migrating because of the precision attacks on militants’ hideouts.
He said a committee under the minister for Safron had already been constituted to look into the issue of the IDPs. He said the Interior Ministry, Fata and Governor’s Secretariat will support the efforts of the Safron Ministry.
He, however, said the flow of people from the tribal areas was not as great as had been reported. “Those who moved from the tribal areas prefer to live with their relatives in Bannu, Peshawar and other areas,” he said.
The minister said the government desired that no massive displacement of people took place but if such a situation did arise, they were fully prepared. He said if any population was affected, the government would take steps for their settlement at camps where they would be provided with the basic facilities.
“But presently, we feel there is no need for any IDPs camp because according to the KP governor and Fata Secretariat, the influx has been very low,” he said.
He said care was taken to ensure zero collateral damage during the precision or targeted strikes carried out in recent days. Nisar further told the House that the prime minister would convene a meeting of all the four chief ministers next week to seek their inputs on the internal security policy.
The minister said genuine suggestions of the chief ministers would be incorporated into the policy. He said the National Security Policy envisaged an allocation of Rs32 billion for the strengthening of the internal security network.
“The country’s security and law and order are the foremost issues and all available resources will be used to deal with the situation,” he said.
He emphasized the need for greater coordination among the provinces to cope with the issue of terrorism. In this regard, he said the provinces and the Federation should hold joint meetings every month.
About the payment of compensation for the security personnel martyred in terrorist attacks, the minister said the compensation package would be enhanced besides giving a special package to those seriously injured.
He informed the House that 1,017 terror incidents took place in different parts of the country during the last six months claiming the lives of 878 people, including 232 security personnel.
