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Imran asks army to temporarily stop operation in civilian areas
PTI chairman asks Sindh, Punjab to facilitate displaced persons
ISLAMABAD – Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf Chairman Imran Khan has asked the Pakistan Army to temporarily stop bombardments in areas of North Waziristan tribal agency where civilian population has not evacuated, a private TV channel reported on Sunday.
Addressing a news conference here, he said that the operation should not be conducted in villages where women and children were present as they were currently stranded. The militancy would spread to areas bordering Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in the wake of the operation according to information available with his party, he said.
Imran said that security should be beefed up in all these bordering areas, besides increase in police force. He urged the federal government to chalk out a plan to facilitate the influx of internally displaced persons (IDPs) as well as growing security concerns. “The prime minister should stop his foreign trips and plan for rehabilitation,” he said.
He also said that the planning should have happened before but the provincial government of Pakhtunkhwa was not informed of the operation. He appealed to the provincial governments of Sindh and Punjab to facilitate the displaced persons. “These are Pakistanis. It is not their fault. They are angry. They are being shunned,” he said.
The PTI chairman also called on the federal government to immediately release Rs6 billion to the Khyber Pakhtukhwa government to help the facilitation of the displaced persons. The sistrict Bannu already has a population of one million, with 500,000 refugees from the operation pouring in, he said. “The hospitals cannot take the pressure of so many people,” he said.
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk