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Sherpao denies Taliban presence in tribal areas

Staff Report

SHABQADAR: Interior Minister Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao on Saturday denied the presence of Taliban in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), as four Khasadar force personnel were wounded in an ambush.

“There are no Taliban in the tribal areas. It is only propaganda,” he told reporters at Shabqadar Fort in Charsadda district, after inaugurating the Frontier Constabulary Foundation School.

But he conceded that whatever was happening in the tribal areas was due to the involvement of “external hands” who wanted to disturb peace along Pakistan’s western border. “Foreign elements are involved,” he said, without elaborating.

The interior minister also said that the Pakistan Army was not playing a direct role in the ongoing operation against terrorists. “The army is just assisting the paramilitary and Khasadar force and there is no proposal to deploy regular soldiers in the tribal region, ” he said.

“We are committed to flushing out foreign terrorists from the tribal areas and the government will not hesitate from any action to meet that goal,” Sherpao said.

In Frontier Region Bannu, four Khasadar force personnel were ambushed as they were returning to their check-post after visiting Mir Ali town in North Waziristan. Security sources in Miranshah, regional headquarters of North Waziristan, told Daily Times that the personnel were ambushed few hundreds metres away from Kajori, the entry-point into North Waziristan.

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