Prime Minister’s Adviser Rana Sanaullah has warned that civilians could be harmed during ongoing anti-terror operations in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa if residents neither push militants out of populated areas nor make way for security forces. He made the remarks in an interview on the programme Naya Pakistan.
Sanaullah said intelligence agencies knew how many militants were operating and where they were based. He described their intelligence work as excellent and said intelligence-based operations were being carried out in sensitive areas.
Militant groups among residents in sensitive areas
Sanaullah said militants moved in groups of as few as three and as many as 15 people. He claimed that 70% of such groups were currently present in the sensitive areas.
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According to Sanaullah, the militants are blending in with local people or living among them. He said residents had been asked to remove the militants from their neighbourhoods. If they were unwilling to do so, he said, they should step aside so the operation could proceed.
He warned that if neither option was possible, there would be a risk of collateral damage. The remark signalled that civilians near militant hideouts could be endangered if the operations went ahead.
Criticism of the Sohail Afridi government and PTI
Sanaullah, a PML-N leader, alleged that the Sohail Afridi government had discouraged residents from cooperating with law enforcement agencies. He described that government as now dysfunctional. He said Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was currently being run under a setup headed by the governor.
He argued that eliminating militancy was an achievable goal if the current administration fully cooperated. He said terrorism in the province could be wiped out within weeks and months, and that once it was gone, the province could return to normal. He expressed confidence that this would happen.
Sanaullah also said the government expected PTI to cooperate in the fight against terrorism. On the political front, he said the government was willing to meet the opposition leader for talks at the Prime Minister House. He added that the opposition leader would be welcomed with tea if he came.
Referring to TTAP chief Achakzai, Sanaullah called him a brother who had supported the government greatly in the past. He said the government respected Mahmood Achakzai, but added that Achakzai was insisting on something that did not suit a leader of his standing.
Emergency and governor’s rule imposed on October 11
President Asif Ali Zardari imposed an emergency and governor’s rule in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on October 11. The move effectively sidelined the PTI-led provincial government, which the presidency described as a deteriorating law and order situation.
The president approved the summary on the advice of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, under Articles 232 and 234 of the Constitution, after the federal cabinet made recommendations. The presidential proclamation cited a rise in terrorist attacks and extremist activity, including attacks on infrastructure, government installations and law enforcement agencies.
The proclamation also accused the provincial government of failing to show the ownership, will and intent needed to confront terrorism and lawlessness. Prime Minister Shehbaz said on Thursday that the emergency and governor’s rule had been imposed under extreme compulsion.
He also criticised PTI over the worsening security situation, saying the province had become a cradle of peace six years ago. Shehbaz promised that, with the cooperation of the field marshal, happiness would return to the province. He said Khyber Pakhtunkhwa would receive development on a par with other provinces.
