Electronic cash assistance programme for IDPs launched

(GNN) - PESHAWAR: The Government under a well transparent mechanism has formally launched an electronic cash assistance programme for the disbursement of money to the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) of North Waziristan Agency through ZONG mobile SIMs .

The scheme was launched by the Khyber Pakthunkhwa Governor Sardar Mehtab Ahmed Khan during a ceremony at Governor House.

Speaking on the occasion the Governor said the people of North Waziristan had left their homes for defence and stability of the country and their sacrifices would not go waste. He said the governmnet was well aware of the problems being faced by the IDPs and would utilize all available resources to provide relief and assistance to them.

Mehtab said there was no dearth of resources and every single penny would be used for assistance relief and rehabilitation of displaced people. The Governor said crisis and difficulties come in the lives of nations but they face it with bravery.

He said the IDPs would soon return to their native homes with dignity and honour and government would remain with them till their complete rehabilitation.

The Governor said every IDP family will get Rs 40 000 relief package including Rs. 25000 for Ramzan through this latest and swift technalogy.

NADRA had confirmed 25000 IDPs families to take benefit from this scheme while the governmnet has already distributed Rs. 343.488 million among the affected.

On this occasion the Governor also distributed relief amount among the IDPs.

Chief Executive Officer of Zong Company, Sajid Muhammad, Member National Assembly from South Waziristan Agency, Ghalib Khan advocate, additional chief secretary Fata, Muhammad Arif, Director Gen Fata Disaster Management Authority and affectees of North Waziristan Agency were present.

The disbursement of money through mobile SIMs will ensure transparency and quick distribution of money among affteced families. More than 25000 affected families would take benefits from Prime Minister's package during Ramzan under which 1000 million rupees would be distributed among them.

Under the PM relief package every dislocated family will be paid Rs. 10000 for food and rent of houses for six months and that every month Rs. 250 million would be distributed among them.(GNN)(THENEWS)(AIP)

PM, Army chief discuss Operation Zarb-e-Azb

(GNN) - ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif met with Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Raheel Sharif here on Wednesday.

During the meeting the prime minister and COAS discussed the ongoing Operation Zarb-e-Azb in North Waziristan Agency.

Army chief informed the prime minister that Operation Zarb-e-Azb was proceeding according to plan.

The prime minister said a comprehensive plan had been prepared for the IDPs who will be resettled after the operation concludes. Prime Minister Sharif also expressed satisfaction in the coordination between the Pakistan Army and other institutions during the operation.

Pakistan’s military launched the operation in North Waziristan Agency to root out terrorism from the tribal region. The operation has led to over half a million people fleeing from the agency and taking shelter at camps.

In earlier statements Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and COAS Raheel Shairf have expressed that the operation will continue till the last terrorist is eliminated.

Air strike destroys Miranshah terrorists’ hideouts, 11 killed

MIRANSHAH: Eleven terrorists were killed and three of their hideouts destroyed on Wednesday as forces successfully continued Operation Zarb-e-Azb being conducted in North Wazirstan Agency.

Sources said that Pakistan Air force fighter jets in their precision attack last night at around 3:00 AM targeted three hideouts killing 11 terrorists at Zoi Dara Sayedgi, Tehsil Shawal in their latest offensive.

Pakistan on June 15 launched a military offensive, code named ‘Operation Zarb-e-Azb’ against militants in the North Waziristan region of Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA). The region said to be the hotbed of militancy in the country.(GNN)(THENEWS)(AIP)

Zarb-e-Azb: 16 more terrorists eliminated, 7 hideouts smashed

MIR ALI: At least 16 more terrorists were killed in fresh air strikes of Pakistan Air Force (PAF) jets in the outskirts of Mir Ali, North Waziristan on Sunday.

According to Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), PAF jets pounded militants hideouts in the outskirts of Mir Ali, killing 16 terrorists and destroying 7 of their hideouts.

An explosive dump of the militants was also eliminated in the air strikes.

27 terrorists killed in North Waziristan operation: ISPR

RAWALPINDI: At least 27 terrorists were killed on Monday during operation ‘Zarb-e-Azb’ as fighter jets destroyed six terrorist hideouts in Shawal, North Waziristan Agency.
A statement released by the ISPR said there was no civilian population in the area. According to the ISPR, the operation on North Waziristan is progressing as per plan. ‘No operation in civil populated areas has been started so far.’

The ISPR says North Waziristan Agency has been isolated by deploying troops along the border with neighbouring agencies and FATA regions to block any move of terrorists in and out of the agency. ‘Troops have cordoned off all terrorist bases including Mirali and Miranshah.

Six Soldiers Martyred

Six security personnel were martyred and three injured in a IED blast targeting their vehicle in North Waziristan Agency.

According to official sources the blast took place in Ghullam Khan on Bangidar road.

Pak-Afghan Border

Security has also been heightened along the Pak-Afghan border to check terrorists fleeing from the area. Afghan National Army and Afghan Border Police have also been requested to seal the border on their side to facilitate elimination of terrorists fleeing across the border. They have also been requested to initiate immediate measures to eliminate TTP terrorists and their sanctuaries in Kunar, Nuristan and other areas of Afghanistan.

IDPs

The ISPR states that an orderly and dignified evacuation of civil population out of North Waziristan Agency is being ensured. Necessary Logistics and administrative arrangements for IDPs have been completed by Political Administration and Disaster Management Agency. Registration points and IDP camps have been established at Bannu.

Operation Aimed At Eliminating Terrorists, Sanctuaries: COAS

Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Raheel Sharif has emphasised that the operation is aimed at eliminating all terrorists and their sanctuaries and ‘get rid of the menace of terrorism.’

Pakistan Army Launches Operation

On Sunday, precise air strikes in Degan-Boya in North Waziristan killed 140 terrorists most of whom were Uzbeks.

The Pakistan army formally announced the start of a full-scale operation ‘Zarb-e-Azb’ against terrorists in North Waziristan Agency on the directives of the government.

Blast near security convoy in North Waziristan

MIR ALI: A blast occurred near the security forces convoy when it was passing through Mir Ali area of North Waziristan on Tuesday.

The sources confirmed the explosion and added that a remote-controlled bomb went off when the security personnel were passing through Mir Ali area today. However, fortunately no loss of life was reported.(S-W)(Geo)(GNN)

TTP not to hold peace talks with govt

PESHAWAR: Blaming the Pakistan government for the killing of Hakimullah Mehsud in the US drone attack, the Taliban on Sunday announced they would not hold any peace talks with the government and threatened to avenge the killing of their leader. There were reports about differences among various factions of the banned Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) over finding a successor to Hakimullah Mehsud. The Taliban, however, denied that.
“After consultation with all the factions, it has been unanimously decided that we will not hold any peace talks with the government. It’s a puppet government of the US and it deceived us in the name of peace talks,” the TTP spokesman Shahidullah Shahid told this correspondent from his Afghan cell phone.

He claimed the TTP leadership knew that the government was not sincere in peace talks but the Taliban leadership decided to hold negotiations for the sake of the Pakistani people.

“We did not want innocent Pakistani people to suffer any more and therefore decided to hold negotiations with the government. But the government, by helping the US in the killing of Hakimullah Mehsud, proved that there was zero sincerity in the mind of the rulers. It was neither sincere nor serious in peace negotiations,” a seemingly furious Taliban spokesman noted.

He warned the government would have to pay the price for, what he termed playing a double game with the TTP.

Shahidullah said Hakimullah Mehsud’s killing was a “huge loss” to the Pakistani Taliban, adding they would always feel his absence.“We are passing through a difficult phase and are still in the state of mourning. And that’s the reason we could not sit to choose his successor,” he remarked.

He said the TTP Shura would hold its meeting within the next few days and would choose the next Taliban leader. When told about reports that the Shura had held its meeting in North Waziristan but could not develop consensus over one name, the Taliban spokesman said it was not true.

He said all the Shura members had been informed about the meeting and they would soon gather at a safe place to choose Hakimullah’s successor. For the time being, Shahidullah said the Taliban commander from Jandola in the Frontier Region Tank, Asmatullah Shaheen Bhittani, had been appointed as Ameer of the TTP central Shura.

“He is not an acting Ameer of the TTP as reported by the media. He would work as Ameer of the TTP central Shura and would, along with other members of the Shura, oversee affairs of the network till the new Ameer is nominated,” the spokesman explained.

About the announcement of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf-led government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to stop the Nato supplies through the province, the spokesman said, “It is an encouraging attempt as it would at least cause some damage to our enemy but it will not help restore our trust in the government.”

However, other militant leaders welcomed this decision of the PTI government.“Though we oppose the PTI leadership as it is now a party to the system, we appreciate this decision of stopping the Nato supplies,” a senior militant commander operating in Afghanistan said.

He, however, said they would soon start targeting the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leadership for its alleged support to the US in the region.Meanwhile, Taliban sources said the TTP Shura had started its meeting but after a day-long session, the participants could not reach a consensus on the nomination of the TTP leader.

“The Shura held several sessions on Sunday but they could not convince each other on one name. The meeting has been postponed for three days. It has been decided to invite senior members of the TTP and create a consensus on one name,” one of the Shura members told this correspondent.

Pleading anonymity, he said three names of senior Taliban commanders were presented at the Shura meeting. They were Maulana Fazlullah, Hafiz Saeed Khan and Maulana Gul Zaman.

Maulana Fazlullah is the leader of the Swat Taliban and is presently based in Afghanistan’s Kunar province. Hafiz Saeed Khan is the TTP leader in Orakzai Agency.

He belongs to the Orakzai tribe and is a resident of the Mamozai area in the militancy-plagued Orakzai Agency. Among the militant circles, he is known as one of the most hardline and dangerous militant commanders.

Besides his native Orakzai Agency, Taliban sources said he had organised dozens of deadly attacks on key installations in major cities of the country, including the US Consulate in Peshawar through four suicide bombers, the Peshawar airport, military checkpoints, mourning processions of the Shia community and worship places of Ahmadis.

It is said it was Said Khan who organised a suicide car blast on the tribal jirga in Orakzai Agency on October 10, 2008 and killed over 50 people. He proudly claimed the recent suicide car attack on the compound of Mulla Nabi Hanafi in Orakzai Agency.

Like Maulana Fazlullah, he, too, had two wives and is the father of three children.The third militant commander is Maulana Gul Zaman. He, too, belongs to the Orakzai Agency and is the TTP Ameer in the Khyber Agency.

TTP leadership meets in N.Waziristan to choose new chief

DERA ISMAIL KHAN: Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) met Saturday to choose a new leader after their chief Hakimullah Mehsud was killed in a US drone strike, the day before, intelligence officials and militant commanders said. The Taliban's leadership committee gathered at an undisclosed location Saturday in the North Waziristan tribal area, the same region where a US drone strike killed the group's leader, Hakimullah Mehsud, on Friday, said the commanders and officials.

Drones were still flying over North Waziristan Saturday. Witnesses in the towns of Mir Ali and Miranshah reported that Mehsud's supporters were firing at them in anger.

Two candidates are Mullah Fazlullah, the Pakistani Taliban chief for Swat Valley, and Khan Sayed, the leader in the South Waziristan tribal area. The information came from three Pakistani intelligence officials and five Taliban commanders interviewed by phone.

Omar Khalid Khurasani, who heads the group's wing in the Mohmand tribal area, is also in the running, said two of the militant commanders. But he was not believed to be a strong candidate.

All the officials and the commanders spoke anonymously because they were not authorized to talk to media.

Mehsud was killed Friday in a village outside Miran Shah when multiple missiles slammed into a compound just after a vehicle carrying the militant commander arrived.

Four other suspected militants were killed including Mehsud's cousin, uncle and one of his guards. They identity of the fourth victim is not yet known.

Mehsud was on the US most-wanted terrorist lists with a $5 million bounty. He's believed to have been behind a deadly suicide attack at a CIA base in Afghanistan, a failed car bombing in New York's Times Square and brazen assaults in Pakistan that killed thousands of civilians and members of security forces.

His death will likely complicate efforts by the Pakistani government to negotiate a peace deal with the militants.

After the group's number two was killed in a drone strike in May, the Tehreek-e-Taliban as it is formally called, fiercely rejected any idea of peace talks and accused the government of cooperating with the US in the drone strikes.

In recent weeks the TTP appeared to soften its position but had still made multiple demands for preconditions to any negotiating, including the end of drone strikes in the tribal areas. (GNN) (AP) (Yoogle)