Chief of army staff in a meeting with prime minister. PHOTO:PID
Within hours of the killing of nine Frontier Corps (FC) soldiers in a roadside blast in North Waziristan, Chief of Army Staff General Raheel Sharif and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif held a one-on-one meeting on Thursday to discuss the security situation.
Officials said the army chief conveyed his decision to the prime minister about the likely response from the military.
A senior military official told The Express Tribune that the army would respond to the provocation by militants as “terrorism and peace talks cannot go hand in hand”.
“The attack is a clear act of provocation and is a serious blow to the peace process. This will have serious repercussions,” added the official, who asked to remain anonymous because of the sensitivity of the issue.
The Express Tribune has learnt that the military is likely to launch ‘massive air strikes’ in the militant strongholds in retaliation for the roadside blast. “Naturally there will be a response from our side. We will go after those who are responsible for the terrorist attacks,” the official said without elaborating the nature of response.
Separately, an official statement issued from the Prime Minister’s office said the army chief briefed PM Nawaz Sharif about the security situation in Karachi, Balochistan, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata). He also shared the details of Thursday’s terror attacks in Miranshah, said the statement. The prime minister expressed his grief over the loss of precious lives of Pakistan Army soldiers, saying that the sacrifices by “our patriotic soldiers will not go in vain.”
On Thursday morning, militants detonated an improvised explosive device near an FC vehicle in the Ghulam Khan tehsil of North Waziristan, killing nine soldiers and injuring 10 others. A security official said that a vehicle loaded with FC officials was en route to the Zero Point check post near the Pak-Afghan border in the morning.
The vehicle was destroyed by the impact of the explosion.
The official added that the injured were taken to Miramshah Fort, while FC soldiers along with other security forces surrounded the area and launched a search operation. No one was arrested in the operation and no group has taken responsibility for the attack yet.
The latest attack came at a time when the government and the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) are pushing for a breakthrough in the deadlocked peace process.
There has been little headway in the negotiations since the face-to-face meeting between the government negotiators and TTP political shura held in March. The two sides are trying to pencil in a second round of talks but growing mistrust has blocked the peace process.
The army seems to be upset over the protracted peace process as it strongly feels that militants are simply buying time to avoid a possible military operation. In his first major public speech since he became army chief last November, General Raheel Sharif last week warned militants to unconditionally accept the country’s constitution otherwise they will be taken to task. Despite recent setbacks, the government of PM Nawaz Sharif is still pushing for an elusive peace deal with the TTP and its affiliates.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 9th, 2014.
COMMENTS (35)
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I find it naive when people claim that govt. is holding army back. Oh really? Did our govt. take a health pill?
@Pakistani: Indian should mind its own business (fat chance though) because if it does, all major problems / issues will be solved"" +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ So if India minded its own business the TTP will become peaceful and 18 hour loadshedding will disappaer and Pakistan will become Polio free. And tensions between the Military and PMLN will melt away. How tyoically Pakistani!.
@Ch. Allah Daad
Generals would have gone after them months ago had Maryam Nawaz's freedom of movement not been more important than 180 million civilians.
PS: E.T, publish this comment. It might be a bit bold, but do not prevent free speech.
A Soldier is trained to defend its territory but unfortunately they see their own colleagues being martyred nearly every day. This is just because of the lack of leadership decision making of our Rulers who are still busy in going for negotiation with the TTP. It is now high time for the Armed Forces to go for the surgical strikes rather than to accept the task of our so called PM in differentiating between the Good and Bad Talibans.
A decision regarding decisive operations against militants needs to be taken soon as talks is not yielding the desired results even though taken up most sincerely by the civilian government. Aerial bombardment alone is not going to eliminate militancy in Pakistan and Afghanistan is the testimony for failure of the same.
The uncertain situation in regards to the ‘peace talks’ has left many perplexed at the moment. But we certainly remain hopeful for positive outcome, and have full confidence in Pakistani government’s ability to restore peace in the country. Our forces are also working hard to ensure a smooth transition across the border, and it is our wish and desire to see a safe and secure Pakistan for the sake of achieving our shared peace objectives in the region. We repeat what Pentagon Press Secretary Rear Admiral John Kirby said recently in regards to instability and insecurity in the region resulted from the killing of innocent people: “This is a threat that we share with Pakistan, and continue to want to work with Pakistan to try to eradicate it.”
Ali Khan Digital Engagement Team, USCENTCOM
Officials said the army chief conveyed his decision to the prime minister about the likely response from the military. . In a true Democracy the military would make a suggestion to the PM ... not inform him of it's decision. Fixing that mentality should be a high priority.
We are into the war for 12 years and our Generals are still planning.
@truth: no its not true army responded with surgical air strikes against the perpetrators of Islamabad sabzi mandi blast
Yes! The time has come to eliminate terrorism from the country....PAK ARMY should take concrete step as early as possible...
I believe that a strategy of dividing the Taliban has now been successfully implementing as they are busy fighting each other for the moment making army's job easier. AN operation may risk uniting them all again. Let them fall into further disarray and then split them into small groups which would permit negotiation from a position of even greater strength. The army has justification to respond but it may risk unifying a divided force against it.
Taliban + Zaliman are geting over PM's nerves.
Before the army launches a full-scale operation, it must first make lists of Good Taliban and Bad Taliban. That way Pakistan's strategic assets won't get killed in collateral damage!
The current chief of staff does not have the decency to know that one does not march into the Prime Ministers office, wearing khaki battle dress?.
Rex Minor
The Army cief should confer with the Defence Minister and the PM should be outside his reach. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Thats how it happens all over the world!
@Polpot: Indian should mind its own business (fat chance though) because if it does, all major problems / issues will be solved
@truth: because civilians are ruled by nawaz shrif
an all out response till the very end is required rather than these reactionary responses and that too when only the patriotic people are targeted and not when worthless civilians are targeted by these terrorists
"Army chief briefed PM about the security situation in Karachi, Baluchistan....". What exactly is PM upto apart from distributing laptops and overseas travels!?
@Nasir: true
I pray that the Pakistan Army be successful in eliminating the terrorists at the earliest.
Hopefully the PM will see which way the wind is blowing and announce an end to the peace talks and a green light for a massive military operation. 30 days of around the clock airstrikes followed by boots on the ground. Let's take a page out of Sri Lanka's civil war and finish this thing.
I am sure Nawaz Shariff would still do whatever he can to save TTP from army operation.
Hopefully army chief is letting NS know rather than asking him. Good decision.
why no respond when civilians are killed
Good. Gone are the days when we were just counting bodies with little or no response from the Army. Yet again, its the Army chief who has decided to respond, not Nawaz Sharif, who is probably still processing what just happened.
Peace with TTP can only be achieved through the barrel of a gun. These people understand no other language.
Not any more negotiations. We have seen what happens at the end several times. Finish these beasts once and for all. They have killed too many our innocent countrymen.
Yes... Go ahead, retaliate and eradicate all these foreign funded terrorists. Army must NOW act to save motherland from these terrorists. Enough is Enough. Regardless of whatever Nawaz Shariff or Mullah Brigade say, army must act against them to save country. Pakistan army zindabad.
Its time to take action now or never. The water is above head. There is no room to face the danger any more or Pakistan will be completely in the hands of foreign elements.
Go army go. Kill them all. No more tolerance.
Absolutely wise and perfect decision of army chief. He must go ahead with that regardless of what Nawaz Shariff say or think. The only way out to deal with these elements is to strike back and eliminate them once for all. They don't deserve negotiations even a little further.
"“terrorism and peace talks cannot go hand in hand”." +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Thats exactly what India has been saying.! Now the wearer knows where the shoe pinches.
Yep, Army only responds when its own is targeted. Everyone else is not worthy of consideration.