\u2022 Tallal Chaudhry denounces attempts to \u2018politicise\u2019 counter-terror operations
\n\u2022 Opposition MNAs demand inquiry, compensation for victims of Katlang incident
\n\u2022 Dar says decision on canals delayed, will only be taken with partners\u2019 input<\/p>\n
ISLAMABAD: As the government defended a recent security operation in Mardan\u2019s Katlang area \u2014 which led to at least 11 casualties \u2014 on the floor of the National Assembly on Monday, State Minister for Interior Talal Chaudhry did not dispute the claim that it was a \u2018drone strike\u2019, carried out by Pakistani security forces.<\/p>\n
Although Pakistan\u2019s government and military have never officially acknowledged the use of unmanned drones in anti-terror operations, a number of such attacks have been reported in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan over the past year.<\/p>\n
The minister was responding to opposition criticism of the \u2018drone strike\u2019 when he insisted that the people who perished in the attack were militants \u2014 an assertion contested by the opposition, which claimed that civilians were slain in the action.<\/p>\n
In response to a question, the minister informed lawmakers that the action was part of a broader intelligence-based campaign under the National Action Plan (NAP), adding that the strike was conducted in a remote, mountainous area with no civilian population to avoid collateral damage.<\/p>\n
However, Mr Chaudhry did not contradict the opposition\u2019s assertion that it was a drone strike.<\/p>\n
As he spoke, the opposition lawmakers heckled him, calling him \u201ca liar\u201d and \u201cignorant\u201d, which invited the ire of NA Speaker Ayaz Sadiq. Eventually, opposition lawmakers walked out in protest.<\/p>\n
Reading out an official statement issued by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government, the minister said the counter-terrorism operation was carried out on March 29 based on credible intelligence.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe area was being used by terrorists as a hideout and transit point,\u201d he quoted the KP government\u2019s statement as saying. According to the statement, several high-profile militants involved in terrorist activities in the region were neutralised, the minister said.<\/p>\n
Mr Chaudhry slammed the politicisation of security operations, saying that national security should not be used for political gain. \u201cIt is unfortunate that matters of national interest, like counter-terrorism, are being turned into political controversies. We must rise above such attitudes,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
He also questioned the effectiveness of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government\u2019s counter-terrorism measures, despite \u201creceiving over Rs800 billion\u201d through the NFC Award. \u201cWho is responsible for law and order after the 18th Amendment \u2014 the federation or the provinces?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n
He noted that several districts in KP lack functional Counter-Terrorism Departments (CTDs), Safe City projects have not been implemented, and there was not even a forensic lab in the province.<\/p>\n
\u201cEven today, terrorism-related cases from KP are being sent to Punjab\u2019s forensic lab, established during Shehbaz Sharif\u2019s tenure,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The minister also alleged that the KP government had resettled militants who were previously expelled. \u201cNow, they want to politicise the Katlang operation,\u201d he said. The minister also called for a special session on the National Action Plan to review the performance of all provinces.<\/p>\n
\u2018Not allowed to talk\u2019<\/p>\n
The issue was raised in the house by PTI lawmaker Saleemur Rehman, who regretted the \u201cfirst drone attack by security forces on its own unarmed people\u201d.<\/p>\n
He lamented that instead of expressing sorrow over the incident, innocent people were branded as terrorists. PTI\u2019s Mujahid Ali called for a judicial inquiry into the drone strike and a compensation package for the victims.<\/p>\n
JUI-F leader Misbahuddin alleged reckless drone strikes were being carried out in North Waziristan. He said a matric student wounded during a strike on 26th Ramazan later succumbed to his injuries.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u2022 Tallal Chaudhry denounces attempts to \u2018politicise\u2019 counter-terror operations \u2022 Opposition MNAs demand inquiry, compensation for victims of Katlang incident \u2022 Dar says decision on canals delayed, will only be taken with partners\u2019 input ISLAMABAD: As the government defended a recent security operation in Mardan\u2019s Katlang area \u2014 which led to at least 11 casualties […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7956,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7955","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-national-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/weeklyyoung.pk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7955","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/weeklyyoung.pk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/weeklyyoung.pk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/weeklyyoung.pk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/weeklyyoung.pk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7955"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/weeklyyoung.pk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7955\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7957,"href":"https:\/\/weeklyyoung.pk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7955\/revisions\/7957"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/weeklyyoung.pk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/7956"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/weeklyyoung.pk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7955"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/weeklyyoung.pk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7955"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/weeklyyoung.pk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7955"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}