Parachinar: ‘80pc of Kurram Agency cleared of terrorists’

Wednesday, July 7, 2010

‘80pc of Kurram Agency cleared of terrorists’

'80pc of Kurram Agency cleared of terrorists'

* Kurram Militia commander in-charge says 89-km Tall-Parachinar Road reopened after three years
* Swat commanders say establishment of Swat cantonment to be announced in 2-3 months

PARACHINAR/SWAT: Around 80 percent of the Kurram Agency has been cleared of the Taliban and the remaining parts of the agency will also be cleared soon, Kurram Militia Commander In-charge Colonel Touseef Akhtar said on Tuesday.

Talking to reporters, Touseef said the Kurram Agency was divided into three zones and the brave personnel of the paramilitary forced had forced the Taliban to flee from the area.

The militants, he said, had closed the Tall-Parachinar Road as a result of which the supply of essential items – including food and medicine – to the agency had been very nominal. In a few areas, he added, a 50 kilogramme bag of flour was sold at a rate of Rs 7,000 to Rs. 8,000 because of the scarcity of the commodity.

Reopened: Due to the firm resolve of the armed forces, the 89-kilometre-long Tall-Parachinar Road had been reopened after a period of three years, he said.

Touseef informed reporters that the security forces had also gained control of the Pak-Afghan border area.

The sectarian strife in the agency had also been reduced to a great extent by holding the peace jirga, he said.

The Doogar area in Upper Kurram, which had been under the militant's control for the last couple of years, was cleared by the troops within a fortnight, Touseef said. In Doogar, he continued, the militants had established training camps and were also trafficking drugs. The Doogar operation was completed on December 12, 2009, in which 18 troopers embraced martyrdom and 47 were injured, while 96 Taliban were killed, he added.

Mullah Toofan, a wanted Taliban leader who belonged to the area, was also killed in the operation, Touseef said.

Cantonment: Separately, talking to a team of reporters from the Peshawar Press Club, Swat operation commanders Colonel Bilal and Colonel Tabish said that the formal announcement about establishing the cantonment in Swat would be made in two to three months time.

The commander said that land for the proposed cantonment had been identified and construction work would start once the necessary formalities are completed. app