Pakistan Army Says Want to Punish Those Violating Peace, Will Conduct ‘Targeted Ops’ Against Taliban

At a high-level meeting at GHQ in Rawalpindi on Wednesday, the Pakistani Army has decided to plan target operations against banned Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) nationwide, according to top sources.

Nearly 165 law and enforcement agencies (LEAs) personnel have been killed in Pakistan this year, 57 in just 35 days, and the terror incidents and attacks have been rising since May 1.

The army said it wanted to arrest those who attacked the monuments and military installations in the violence that erupted last month after former prime minister Imran Khan’s arrest in a corruption case.

At the meeting, it was decided that the targeted military operations will be conducted against TTP, Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM) and Baloch Nationalist Army, who are supporting militants against LEAs.

The Pakistan Army has also decided that the Afghan Taliban have assured no cross-border activities and that they are moving refugees from the Pak-Afghan areas, the sources told News18. “Not a single militant or militant activity will be allowed and tolerated,” the army had decided at the meeting.

“…Efforts to create distortions and attempts to take refuge behind imaginary and mirage human rights violations to create smoke screen for hiding the ugly faces of all involved, are absolutely futile,” the army said in a statement.

Thousands took to the streets on May 9 after the arrest of Imran Khan on the premises of an Islamabad court.

The government has blamed Khan’s supporters for the violence but the former PM had denied the allegations and has asked for an independent inquiry.

Last week, New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) had urged the government to not try civilians in military courts, adding that the practice violates international law, according to Al Jazeera.