Pak-Afghan border: Army sets up check posts in Dir

Brig Saqib Rashid says Barawal tehsil cleared of militants.

PESHAWAR:

The Pakistan Army has established check posts along the Pak-Afghan border in Dir to prevent cross border intrusions by the militants, said Operations Commander Dir Brigadier Saqib Rashid on Friday.

Talking to APP, Brig Saqib Rashid also said that the army has completed a search operation in Barawal tehsil and adjacent areas which have been cleared of militants.

The insurgency claimed as many as 172 people, among them security personnel. Similarly, 70 terrorists were killed and hundreds of suspects rounded up during the operation. The security forces have also seized heavy weapons from the terrorists.

Terrorists, Brig Rashid said, had damaged about 200 schools and set many mosques on fire in the area. The terrorists had even burnt 840 copies of the Holy Quran, he regretted.

Brig Rashid commended the role of local people and peace committees, or lashkars, for extending support to the security forces during the operations. Peace committees have been formed in all areas of Barawal that will keep a vigilant eye on any suspicious activity.

Brig Rashid said that 10 units of Pakistan Army were deployed in Barawal tehsil while security arrangements along the border with Afghanistan had been further strengthened.

He said the army had started rehabilitation activities in the area. Work on seven schools and many mosques was near completion. Likewise, the Pakistan Army was also busy in rehabilitation of roads, infrastructure and other recreational places.

He added that the provincial government had been consulted on the rehabilitation and development work, which would soon start its part of development work. He said the elders of local Lashkars had pledged to purge the anti-state elements out of their areas and were standing shoulder-to-shoulder with the Pakistan Army. 

Published in The Express Tribune, October 22^nd, 2011.