Trouble in Paradise

Officials say targeted operation launched to quell terror threat in KP

A key militant commander of Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has been killed in an encounter with the law enforcing agencies in Swat region on Friday, sources confirmed to Bol News.

Identified as Adil Zaib, son of Mian Sahib Jan, a resident of Shakare village in Manglowar area of Swat, he was involved in Tuesday’s IED attack in a village that killed eight people, including two policemen and the local head of a citizens’ village defense committee, Idrees Khan.

Sources said that a large quantity of arms and ammunition were also seized during the operation, which was part of a wider intelligence-based kinetic operation the authorities have launched across the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province to prevent Taliban resurgence.

Official sources told BOL News that a go-ahead for the operation, which is designed on the pattern of the erstwhile Raddul-Fasad operation, was given following persistent reports of militants’ movement in parts of Swat, Upper Dir, Dera Ismail Khan, Tank and some districts bordering Afghanistan.

The movement of armed TTP militants along the mountain ridges in Swat and Upper Dir was reported some weeks ago and it was widely believed that they had crossed over from their sanctuaries in Afghanistan. Soon afterwards, some police officials were kidnapped, and then released. The news went viral on social media, sparking fears in the region. Meanwhile, sporadic attacks on security check posts were also reported from North and south North Waziristan.

But Tuesday’s attack that killed Idrees Khan and eight others sent alarm bells ringing. A huge protest demonstration was held in Swat on Thursday, where the participants demanded security for residents.

When asked as to how willing and prepared the authorities were to take on the TTP, sources privy to the developments said the movement and activities of these elements “are very much in official notice, and intelligence-gathering is in full-swing to track their movements and hideouts. More strikes on their targets are expected soon.”

Officials of the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) say that Adil Zeb was also tasked with more terror strikes, including the killing of another village defence committee member, Muhammad Shireen. They say some of his team mates were injured during strike by the law enforcing personnel, but they were able to escape from the scene.

When contacted by Bol News, spokesman of the KP government, Barrister Muhmmad Ali Saidf, said the KP government “has decided to quell militant threat everywhere, whether in Swat or in southern districts, and the killing of these wanted terrorists is proof that we are alert and watching them.”

He said protection of life and property of citizens was the government’s “top-most priority”, and anyone challenging the writ of the government would be taken to task. “There are reports of some armed militant movements in Swat, Dir and some southern districts, but the government, the police and the law enforcement agencies are on high alert and ready to crack down on them,” he said.