K-P CM demands armoured personnel carriers from federal govt

Afridi says province ‘bears brunt’ of terrorism, criticises false narrative against people of K-P

PESHAWAR:

Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) Chief Minister Sohail Afridi on Sunday called on the federal government to provide the province with armoured personnel carriers (APCs), saying K-P was bearing the brunt of the ongoing wave of terrorism.

The statement came a day after a blast struck a joint checkpoint near Aman Mela in Dera Ismail Khan’s Darazinda area, killing at least 12 people and injuring 35 others, police said.

The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) had claimed responsibility for the attack, while a Rescue 1122 official was also killed and two others were seriously injured when an ambulance transporting victims came under fire near Daraban.

Speaking at a press conference at Al-Amin House in Dera Ismail Khan alongside former K-P chief minister Ali Amin Gandapur, Afridi condemned the recent incident in Darazinda and said both civilians and Pakistan Army personnel were being martyred in the attack.

“We had seen it coming, which was why we were raising our voices,” he said, referring to warnings about terrorism in K-P.

He said the provincial government had allocated Rs35 billion to the police for maintaining peace and stressed that the people of K-P wanted peace.

Read: 12 killed, 35 injured as TTP strikes anti-smuggling checkpoint in K-P's DI Khan

“We realised that our children, women and young people were being martyred,” he said.

CM Afridi criticised the federal government, alleging that it was controlled by “a gang of thieves” and that K-P was not being provided with APCs despite having already made the required payment.

“We told the federal government to give us our APCs because your APCs were being used for us,” he said. “We were carrying the coffins; our province was wounded.”

The chief minister said the provincial government did not accept policies made behind closed doors and argued that lasting peace could not be established without taking the people of K-P into confidence.

“We were serious about eliminating terrorism,” he said. “Anyone who took up arms against Pakistan was a terrorist.” He also said the security situation in K-P and Balochistan had deteriorated to a point beyond the government's control.

Afridi said anyone killed in the current wave of terrorism would be provided with a martyr's compensation package.

Read more: Afridi warns of 'unprecedented' reaction if governor's rule imposed in K-P

He also criticised the false narrative against the people of K-P, saying residents of the province knew the standing of those promoting it.

K-P has witnessed a significant rise in terrorist activities since last week, after 23 people, including 15 police personnel, were martyred in a blast at a mosque in Kohat’s Police Lines during Friday prayers. Eight terrorists were also killed during a subsequent search and clearance operation.

Later, the Ittihadul Mujahideen Pakistan (IMP), led by Afghanistan-based Hafiz Gul Bahadur, claimed responsibility for the deadly bombing and rampage involving multiple attackers.

In a separate incident, a captain and a lieutenant were among six security personnel martyred in an exchange of fire in Hangu district, while eight terrorists were killed.

Following a series of deadly attacks in K-P, Pakistan carried out “calibrated” air strikes against terrorist hideouts near the Afghan border and conducted intelligence-based ground operations that killed a total of 37 terrorists.

Pakistan’s air defence systems also shot down eight drones after they entered the country’s airspace from Afghanistan. Security sources said four of the drones were brought down in areas adjoining the Torkham border, while another four were shot down in mountainous areas near the border with Kohat.

Reacting to the attack, Pakistan carried out “precision” air and drone strikes against 10 locations in Afghanistan.