130,000 search operations carried out under NAP

1,359 terrorists killed in Fata operations; 326 cases registered to choke finances of terrorists

ISLAMABAD: According to authoritative sources, around 130,190 combing and search operations were conducted till the middle of January 2016 throughout the country as part of the National Action Plan (NAP).

Giving the details of operations, the sources said that in the Islamabad Capital Territory and Gilgit-Baltistan, 6,580 search operations were conducted since January 15, 2015, 3,455 arrests were made and one terrorist was killed.

Similarly, in the Punjab, the number of operations carried out was 38,038. During these operations, 6,346 arrests were made and 62 terrorists were killed.

The highest number of operations were carried out in the KPK i.e. 55,634. The arrests made were 3,223 while the number of terrorists killed was unavailable.

In Sindh, 28,003 operations were carried out and 29,818 arrests were made. The number of those who were killed during the operations was 946.

Around 1,935 operations were conducted in Balochistan and 4,115 arrests were made. Also, 423 terrorists were killed during the operations.

Overall, 46,957 arrests were made and 1,432 terrorists were killed (excluding KPK) in some 130,190 countrywide operations since January 15, 2015, the sources added.

Authoritative sources have revealed that while the Operation Zarb-e-Azb had started much earlier in 2014, since January 2015, during operations in Fata, 1,359 terrorists have been killed and 916 injured. These include 440 killed during Zarb-e-Azb, 308 killed in Operation Khyber, 1, 454 killed in Operation Khyber II, and 157 killed in Shawal. Also, 80 terrorists were injured in Zarb-e-Azb, 393 in Khyber, 1, 422 in Khyber II and 21 in Shawal. During this period, the armed forces had 78 Shaheeds in Zarb-e-Azb, 45 in Khyber, 1, 57 in Khyber II and eight in Shawal. Also, 203 armed forces personnel were injured in Zarb-e-Azb, 55 in Khyber, 1, 190 in Khyber II, and 17 in Shawal. In all, there were 188 Shaheeds and 465 Ghazis during the one year of operations in Fata.

Efforts have been made to choke the finances of terrorists and terrorist organizations and 326 cases had been registered on account of suspicious transactions by the middle of January 2016 under the National Action Plan (NAP), authoritative sources have revealed. These cases concern Hundi/Hawala, anti-money laundering and suspicious transactions. The sources said although efforts were being made by the FIA and the State Bank of Pakistan on account of Hawala/Hundi yet suspicious transactions and money laundering (donations/extortion/ransom/Hawala/Hundi) continued.The sources said that around 326 cases (Hundi/ Hawala, anti-money laundering/suspicious transactions) had been registered, 294 individuals arrested and more than Rs 251 million recovered.

Similarly, under the National Action Plan, capacity building of law enforcement agencies was being carried out. In this regard, Nacta has organized capacity building workshops on terrorist financing and money laundering in coordination with the US Embassy, the World Bank and other organizations. Also, the Finance Division has been asked to consider the inclusion of intelligence agencies’ representatives in workshops and seminars on terror financing and anti-money laundering.

Nacta has also tasked the Finance Division to take up and pursue the matter of origin of NGOs and charities with concerned departments for registration and audit of accounts.

The sources said the progress was rather slow owing to unregulated cash flows in Pakistan’s cash driven economy, undocumented market economy, non availability of any efficient regulatory framework, rampant corruption within the anti-corruption departments and lack of investigation expertise of LEAs.