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Operation launched to secure Nato supplies |
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Updated at:
0230
PST, Wednesday, December 31, 2008 |
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PESHAWAR/BARA: Curfew remained clamped on many towns of the Peshawar district on Tuesday as the security forces, backed by gunship helicopters, tanks and artillery, launched an operation against the militants in Jamrud subdivision of Khyber Agency to secure the main supply route for the Nato forces in Afghanistan.
Choppers and artillery of the Army and the Frontier Corps (FC) targeted the base camps of suspected militants in Ghariza, Wali Baba, Sheikh Siddiq Killay, Ghundi, Shahkas, Tedi Bazaar and many other areas.
The police and the Frontier Constabulary were on high alert in villages close to the Khyber Agency. Nobody was allowed to move to the tribal areas. There was no traffic between Khyber and Peshawar while the Karkhano Market, housing thousands of shops, was also closed.
Five base camps of suspected militants were razed to the ground during the action while 20 tribesmen were rounded up from different areas. No resistance was witnessed in any part of Jamrud.
“We are there to destroy 27 dens, already identified, and others, if found, during the operation. There are six different groups operating in the agency, including militants and outlaws. They will be flushed out before the operation is wound up,” Khyber Agency’s Political Agent (PA) Tariq Hayat told the media on Tuesday.
A minor, Zakir, was killed and two women sustained injuries when a shell hit their house in Ghariza area. A tribesman, Mewa Gul, was killed and another injured in firing on a moving car in Jaladin Kilay while Swat Khan was gunned down in Tedi Bazaar. Some sources put the death toll during the operation at eight, including two women and two children, saying at least 12 other tribesmen were wounded. However, any senior official did not confirm it.
The political agent avoided giving any specific details of the progress made by the security forces on the first day of the operation, saying damage assessment was being done and would be revealed to the media after getting the exact information.
The supply for the Nato troops was suspended temporarily because of the operation, as the Peshawar-Jalalabad Road remained blocked for all kinds of traffic. An official admitted the supply to the Nato forces had been suspended temporarily because of the operation, but it would soon resume.
The operation was launched after continuous attacks on Nato logistics, trans-shipment terminals on the Ring Road in Peshawar and other goods being transported to Afghanistan through Jamrud. Container terminals were attacked six times on the Ring Road where over 300 military vehicles and containers laden with expensive goods were reduced to ashes, causing losses of billions of rupees to the Nato forces.
Kidnapping for ransom incidents in Jamrud subdivision and the nearby parts of Peshawar had also become a headache for the federal and provincial governments and was earning a bad name for the rulers.
Roads linking the provincial capital with the Khyber Agency — Bara Road, Jamrud Road and other routes connecting many phases of Hayatabad with the tribal region — and the main Kohat Road that links the Peshawar city with Darra Adamkhel remained blocked when the military was targeting the militants’ hideouts.
The firing from the artillery and gunship helicopters could be easily heard in Hayatabad, where most of the population got panicky after hearing the explosions early in the morning. The same was the situation in rural parts of the district, sharing boundary with Jamrud.
Curfew remained imposed on several villages on both sides of the Kohat Road after 6 am. The locals were not allowed to move out of their homes after announcements were made through loudspeakers of mosques. The curfew was later relaxed and people were allowed to visit bazaars.
Thousands of people remained stranded after the roads connecting Peshawar with the Khyber Agency and Darra Adamkhel were closed. Large contingents of police were deployed at Pishtakhara Chowk, Phase V Chowk and Scheme Chowk to stop vehicular traffic.
The political agent informed newsmen that initially the operation would be carried out in areas inhibited by Kokikhel and Jandokhel tribesmen as the two tribes had failed to curb the militancy. He added that considerable time was given to the two tribes as well as to the Mullahgori tribe to kick out the “anti-state elements” from their areas.
“No action will be taken against the latter because the Mullahgori tribesmen have raised a private Lashkar and have effectively controlled the anti-state activities in their area,” Tariq Hayat added. |
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ISSN 1563-9479 
