India funding terrorists in FATA, Balochistan: army

ISPR says India playing a dangerous game in region * Pakistan getting positive signals from Afghanistan on Fazlullah’s extradition

RAWALPINDI: Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General Major-General Asim Bajwa Thursday said that India was funding terrorists in Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) and Balochistan.

He said it was not possible for a local terrorist organisation, Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), to operate without external support and funding.

“The issue has been taken up by officials at the diplomatic level. We need to tell the world about this involvement,” the ISPR spokesman told journalists at a press conference at the General Headquarters.

He said India was resorting to unprovoked shelling at the Line of Control at a time when Pakistan’s armed forces were engaged in war against terrorists. “Indian violations at LoC are by design,” he said, and added that protests have been lodged at foreign office and military levels. He hoped that India will understand that it is playing a dangerous game in the region.

Major-General Bajwa said that the gang of hardcore terrorists involved in Army Public School Peshawar attack had been identified and busted. He said nine out of 27 terrorists involved in the attack had been killed while 12 have been arrested - six each from Pakistan and Afghanistan.

The rest of the terrorists, including Mullah Fazlullah and Umar Ameer, who were in Afghanistan, were still at large and would soon be apprehended, he added. Giving the details of the incident, he said that APS attack was carried out on the directions of Mulla Fazlullah, who elected Umar Ameer to supervise the attack. Other terrorists involved in this attack included: Asif alias Haji Kamran, Atiq-ur-Rehman, Kaif Qari, Mudassir, Taj, Misbah, Hazrat Ali, Sabeel alias Yahya, Mujeeb-ur-Rehman, Saddam, Khurshid and Jabbani, he said. Six suicide bombers were selected for the purpose, who were eliminated by the security forces, he added.

Major-General Bajwa said that three attackers spent night near APS Peshawar at the home of one of the facilitators who was a prayer leader. He said that this gang had been involved in different attacks in Rawalpindi and adjoining areas. In Peshawar, this gang ruthlessly killed 122 persons in an attack at Mena Bazaar while it was also involved in attack on two army officers near Tarnol in Rawalpindi.

About extradition of Mullah Fazlullah from Afghanistan, he said this demand was being raised at all appropriate levels, adding, “We are getting positive response.” He said that Mullah Fazlullah was a known terrorist and he would either be apprehended or killed very soon. Giving an update on Zarb-e-Azb and Khyber-I, the DG said that armed forces had cleared most parts of North Waziristan and Khyber Agency, except for a couple of small pockets along Afghan border.

To a question on military courts, he said that initially nine courts had been set up across country. So far provinces have sent 12 cases of terrorists to the Ministry of Interior which had forwarded them to military courts for trials.