Pakistani security forces on Friday launched a major crackdown on militants, killing at least 40, a day after 88 people were killed in a suicide attack at a Sufi shrine in Sindh province.
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said in a statement that he has authorised armed forces and law enforcement agencies to “eliminate” the enemy. “It is time for us to unite and fight against the radicals. This war will end and it will conclude with the victory of our people, including our positive values that bind us,” he said after holding a security meeting at Sehwan where suicide attack occurred on Thursday.
In Karachi alone, police claimed to have raided a militants’ den at Manghopir and killed 11 suspected terrorists. Raids were conducted in Punjab, Khyber Pakhrtunkhwa and Balochistan provinces where 18 suspected militants were gunned down in Khanewal, Kathore, Quetta and Peshawar. Eleven suspected terrorists were killed by military in Orakzai Agency in tribal area.
The death tool from popular Sufi Shrine in Sindh province which was hit by a suicide bomber on Thursday rose to 88.
In Sehwan, devotees held a dhamaal , a ritual dance, on Friday morning at the shrine to deliver a message to the terrorists that they can’t be defeated following deadly terror attacks.
Strict security measures have been taken. Most shrines along with the mausoleum of Pakistan’s founder Mohammed Ali Jinnah in Karachi have been closed for public for at least three days. Para-military troops have been deployed at all shrines.
Prime Minister Sharif, along with Army Chief General Qamar Bajwa, visited the shrine of Lal Shahbaz Qalander on Friday morning and visited the injured in the hospitals.
Last nigh, Afghan Embassy officials were summoned to the military headquarters in Rawalpindi and handed over a list of 76 terrorists which Pakistan believe are hiding in Afghanistan.
Separately, Pakistan’s foreign affairs advisor Sartaj Aziz told Afghan National Security Adviser Hanif Atmar over the phone that Jamat-ul-Ahrar (JA), which accepted responsibility for the acts of terror, continued to operate from its sanctuaries in Afghanistan. He added that Pakistan’s calls to Afghan officials regarding its existence went unheeded.
PTI adds;
Crackdown to intensify
Official said the crackdown would be intensified in the coming days as the government had resolved to eliminate militancy.
“After the string of terrorist attacks in the country in the past week, the government and military are on one page and the crackdown was ordered,” a top government official said.
The Army began an operation in Shalman area near the Pakistan-Afghan border, using heavy artillery fire, reports said. The border with Afghanistan at Torkham has been shut.
The crackdown was launched simultaneously by the federal and provincial governments after at least eight terror attacks rocked Pakistan over the week, killing dozens.
At a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif this week, the participants agreed that militants posing threat to national security should be “liquidated.”
The Army said they placed required resources to facilitate rescue efforts.
The IS has claimed responsibility for the attack through their Aamaq news agency. The shrine has been sealed and police have collected initial evidence and secured CCTV footage.
