Body-blow?: Jolt to embryonic peace process

Maj Gen Niazi, Lt Col Tauseef and Lance Naik Sattar killed in bomb attack in Upper Dir

UPPER DIR: In an attack that could scupper the embryonic peace process, Taliban insurgents set off a roadside bomb in a village near the Pak-Afghan border in Upper Dir district on Sunday, killing a major general and a lieutenant colonel – rare high-ranking fatalities in the fight against a resilient insurgency.

The deadly bombing in Sabir Kallay area claimed by the homegrown Taliban also killed a junior officer and wounded two other officials. It came a day after the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government announced withdrawal of troops from Malakand division, of which Upper Dir is a part.

The military confirmed the fatalities in a brief statement.

“Major General Sanaullah Niazi was on a visit to a forward post near Pak-Afghan border for the last couple of days. He was on his way back when an IED planted by terrorists on the roadside exploded which resulted in the martyrdom of Maj Gen Sanaullah, Lt Col Tauseef and Lance Naik Irfan Sattar,” reads the statement issued by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR).

Maj Gen Niazi was the general officer commanding (GCO) of 15 Division, while Lt Tauseef was commanding officer (CO) of 33 Baloch Regiment.

Maj Gen Niazi was travelling in a convoy and the militants detonated a bomb just as his vehicle approached. A senior who was also travelling in the convoy, told The Express Tribune that the blast turned Maj Gen Niazi’s vehicle into a heap of mangled metal.

Other troops pulled out the bodies from the wreckage which were subsequently airlifted to the Combined Military Hospital in Rawalpindi, he added. He identified the two injured officers as HAV Ilyas and DQ21 HAV Ghaffar.

Another security official based in Upper Dir said that Maj Gen Niazi was returning after spending time at Malatarh check post in the Barawal area on Pak-Afghan border when his vehicle hit the roadside bomb.

He added that security forces immediately cordoned off the area and launched a manhunt for the attackers. The deadly blast whipped up fear among panicked residents who offered condolences to the security officials and vowed to aid the government’s fight against militancy.

The militants have repeatedly targeted security forces and pro-government politicians in the region. In October 2008, at least 50 people were killed in a suicide attack targeting ANP leader Shamin Khan in the Nihag Darra area. A year later, six students were killed in militants attack on a police van carrying prisoners.  In February, 2012 two persons were killed in a suicide blast on a pro-government elder, Mutabar Khan.

In other acts of violence, three security officials were killed in two IED attacks in North Waziristan Agency on Sunday.

Two Bomb Disposal Squad officials were scanning the Miramshah-Mirali Road for explosives when the militants triggered an IED in the Karam Kot area. The officials were critically wounded – one of them died of his wounds before he could be provided medical aid.

The second IED blast took place Miramshah-Datta Khel Road. A convoy of security forces was travelling to Miramshah from Datta Khel when one of the vehicles struck a roadside bomb. Two security officials were killed and three injured in the explosion. The injured were airlifted to the CMH in Bannu city.

Security forces called in air support before launching a search operation in the area.

Separately, two officials of Khasadar, a tribal police force, were killed and four injured when militants attacked their patrol vehicle near a check-post in Frontier Region Bannu late Saturday night, an official of the local political administration told The Express Tribune.

The attack comes after weeks of discussions within the PML-N government about whether to pursue peace talks with the outlawed Tehreek-eTaliban Pakistan (TTP), which has been blamed for most violence against security forces and civilians in the country.

Last week, an all parties conference endorsed the proposed dialogue with the Taliban. But it was not clear when the talks would begin, who might take part or if they would be held under any conditions. The killing of Maj Gen Niazi and his colleagues will make it harder for the government to start the negotiations.

(WITH ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY KAMRAN YOUSAF IN ISLAMABAD, NASRUMINALLAH IN MIRAMSHAH, MANAN ADIL IN BANNU)