DEFENCE Minister Khawaja Asif on Tuesday confirmed that “all the terrorists” of the outlawed Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) who had taken hostages at a Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) centre in Bannu were killed in an operation conducted by the Pakistan Army.
Speaking on the floor of the National Assembly, he said that a unit of the army’s Special Service Group (SSG) carried out the operation, in which 10-15 of its commandos were injured while two were martyred.
We join the entire nation in paying tributes to the valiant personnel of Pakistan Army who upheld the writ of the state putting their own life in peril.
It was indeed a difficult and challenging operation involving hard core terrorists but credit goes to the special unit of the SSG for carrying it out successfully.
The commandos foiled designs of the terrorists to escape as they wanted a safe passage to neighbouring Afghanistan.
It is not for the first time that commandoes of Pakistan Army came up to the expectations of the people during a difficult moment as in the past as well they successfully handled complex scenarios.
While our defence forces never disappointed the nation, it is quite clear that the provincial governments are not fulfilling their responsibilities as meticulously as they should.
This became evident when militants easily succeeded in overpowering law-enforcing personnel making them hostage and even releasing videos asking the people of Bannu, especially the Ulema, to come forward and resolve the standoff between them and law enforcers through dialogue.
The incident also confirmed once again that TTP doesn’t believe in dialogue and wants to implement its nefarious designs through bloodshed and violence.
As it is spreading its activities both in KP and Balochistan threatening routine life, an all-out operation is warranted to weed out the menace once for all.
