The Army and Rangers will conduct a full-blown operation across Punjab to target militants, their facilitators and their hideouts, military sources confirmed
ISLAMABAD – Pakistan army has initiated a military operation to crackdown banned militant outfits across Punjab following a deadly suicide blast in Lahore that killed over 70 people and injured more than 300.
Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Raheel Sharif chaired a high-level security meeting at General Headquarters (GHQ) on Monday to review progress of operation in Punjab to nab terrorists in the aftermath of Lahore park blast, the army spokesperson said. The Army chief directed concerned commanders and intelligence agencies to kick off the operation in Punjab to bring the perpetrators of the deadly Lahore suicide attack to justice.
Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, a faction of the Tehreek-e-Taliban, claimed responsibility for the attack late on Sunday night, and issued a direct challenge to the government.
In an immediate military operation after Lahore attack, Army arrested number of suspects, terrorists and facilitators were arrested while huge caches of arms and ammunition seized during the raids.
According to Director General of Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR )Lt Gen Asim Saleem Bajwa, intelligence agencies, Army and Rangers carried out five joint operations in Lahore, Faisalabad and Multan since last night during which several suspected terrorists and their facilitators have been arrested.
Int agencies with Army& Rangers carried out 5 ops in Lhr,Fsd&Multan since last night. Ops continue with more leads coming in-2
— Gen Asim Bajwa (@AsimBajwaISPR) March 28, 2016
Yesterday’s suicide bombing was the deadliest attack in Pakistan since the December 2014 APS massacre, which killed 134 schoolchildren prompting a government crackdown on Islamist militancy, and the launch of the National Action Plan (NAP).
“We must bring the killers of our innocent brothers, sisters and children to justice and will never allow these savage inhumans to over-run our life and liberty,” military spokesman Asim Bajwa said in a post on Twitter.
Meanwhile, the Meeting chaired by the Prime Minister today reviewed Lahore terror attack and overall strategy against terrorists. Meeting was briefed by head of law enforcement and intelligence agencies on different leads based progress regarding Lahore terror attack.
The prime minister said that to win the war on terror is an imperative for us. Our resolve as a nation and as a government is getting stronger and coward enemy is trying for soft targets. Our goal is not only to eliminate terror infrastructure but also the extremist mindset which is threat to our way of life.