Page 13 - Pakistan Link - February 1, 2019

PAKISTAN FEBRUARY 1, 2019 – PAKISTAN LINK – P13
51% of Pakistanis Hold Favorable Opinion Army Hopes Kabul Will Focus on TTP,

of PM Khan’s Overall Performance Da’ish aft er Restoration of Peace

44pc said that it had been at a cost of $550 million. Th e pair of
good. Twenty-three per nine-foot wire fences, with a six-foot
cent termed it ‘bad’, 16pc gap, and topped with barbed wire, runs
termed it ‘very bad’, and along rugged terrain and snow-capped
2pc did not know or did mountains as high as 12,000 feet.
not wish to respond. Maj-Gen Ghafoor also spoke
Meanwhile, from about the concerns voiced by the
among rural respon- Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM).
dents, only 12pc said “Wherever [military] operations take
that the Prime Minister’s place, people see pain and suff ering [as
performance had been a collateral consequence]. A war has
very good, 35pc said that been ongoing [in Pakistan] for the last
it had been good, 27pc 20 years,” he added. “If a kid is 20-year
opined that it had been old today, he has only seen war in his
bad, 22pc said that it had lifetime.”
been very bad, while 4pc Th e military spokesperson said
did not know or did not that in the post-confl ict environment it
wish to respond. Miramshah: As the United States and was the state responsibility to assuage
Th e age-wise break- the Taliban are closing in on a deal to the genuine grievances of people, “but
down found that PM end the 17-year-long war in Afghani- you cannot take matters of the state in
According to the survey’s fi ndings, 38 per cent of Pakistanis rated the Premier’s performance
as “good”, whereas another 13pc had a “very good” opinion of whatever he’s been up to Khan enjoys a better ap- stan, the Pakistani military hopes that your own hands”.
proval rating among mil- aft er the restoration of peace, the Ka- He added, “Whatever the prob-
Islamabad: More than According to the people had a “bad” opin- lennials, with 65 per cent bul administration would act against lems, they are to be solved here locally
half of Pakistan has a fa- survey’s fi ndings, 38 per ion of the PM’s perfor- of the respondents under the groups using the Afghan soil as a as you have to live here. Th ese problems
vorable opinion of Prime cent of Pakistanis rated mance, whereas 20pc the age of 30 holding a springboard for launching attacks in cannot be solved in Karachi or outside
Minister Imran Khan’s the premier’s perfor- had a “very bad” view. favorable opinion of him. Pakistan. the country. If you are interested in
overall performance aft er mance as “good”, whereas Th ree per cent did not However, the Prime Pakistani security offi cials have fi nding a solution, talk to the local lead-
his fi rst fi ve months in another 13pc had a “very know or did not wish to Minister’s popularity long said that the outlawed terrorist ership and the army.”
power, a poll conducted good” opinion of what- respond. takes a massive hit in the groups – especially the Tehreek-e-Tal- Th e PTM has been staging rallies
by Gallup Pakistan and ever he’s been up to. Urban respondents, 50-plus age bracket, with iban Pakistan and the Khorasan fran- and public meetings in diff erent cities
the Gilani Foundation In total, 51pc of the according to the survey’s a combined 51 per cent chise of Islamic State, also known by its of the country to rally support for its
suggests. sampled people held a results, were found to be of them believing that his Arabic acronym Da’ish – orchestrate demands, though some of them have
As part of the sur- favorable opinion of the signifi cantly more up- performance has been ei- and mount attacks in Pakistan from already been addressed.
vey, a representative Prime Minister’s perfor- beat about Prime Minis- ther “bad” or “very bad”. their sanctuaries in Afghanistan’s bor- “It is the responsibility of the
sample of 1,141 people mance, who assumed ter Khan’s tenure. Th e Prime Minister’s der regions. state, and, also our responsibility, as an
was asked, “What is your the top offi ce on August From among urban Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf Most deadly terrorist attacks in instrument of the state to solve these is-
opinion on Prime Minis- 18 last year following his respondents, 15 per cent had received 16.85 mil- Pakistan have been traced to eastern sues. Th ere are genuine concerns that
ter Imran Khan’s overall party’s triumph in the were of the view that the lion (almost 32 per cent) Afghanistan, where the TTP and Da’ish need to be addressed. But the solu-
performance up until general elections the pre- Prime Minister’s per- of the total 53m votes maintain safe havens in the areas where tion has to be found through talks not
now, i.e., since his win- vious month. formance has been very cast in the 2018 general Kabul has no writ. somewhere else.”
When asked about the merger
“We hope that aft er the war ends
ning the 2018 elections?” Meanwhile, 26pc good up until now, while elections. [as a result of the ongoing reconcilia- of FATA with Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa,
Rubble of a Madrassah Is All Th at Is Left tion process] Afghanistan will be able Maj-Gen Ghafoor said that being a
Pakistani, he was very happy to see
to focus on groups like the TTP and
of Haqqanis in North Waziristan Da’ish, which carry out attacks in Paki- FATA becoming part of Pakistan.
stan. Afghanistan should then focus on
“Th ese areas [FATA] were known as
eliminating these threats to Pakistan,” ‘no-go areas’,” he added. “Th e merger
Miranshah: North Waziristan was once a boiling cauldron of the chief military spokesperson, Ma- would bring dividends for the tribal
terror. A potpourri of local and foreign terrorists held sway here. jor General Asif Ghafoor, said in an population in terms of health and edu-
Th e state writ was virtually nonexistent. Th e Haqqani Network, exclusive interview with Th e Express cation facilities.”
the deadliest collaborators of the Afghan Taliban, used the law- Tribune on Sunday. Earlier, tribal people relied on the
less region to perpetrate their bloody campaign. All that is his- He said Pakistan wished for the Jirga system for the resolution of their
tory now. success of the reconciliation process. disputes. Now police will work in
Th e rubble of a madrassah, at stone’s throw from the Af- “Pakistan is relatively peaceful but if these areas as they do elsewhere in the
ghan border, is all that is left of the Haqqani Network in the your neighborhood is disturbed, it will country. And this would bring a feeling
region. Th e ravaged structure is visible from Pakistan Army’s have an impact on you,” said Maj-Gen among the tribal people that they are
Ghulam Khan Fort overlooking the rugged mountainous bor- Ghafoor, the Director General of the equal citizens of Pakistan.
der with Afghanistan. Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR). Th e military spokesperson said
Until 2014, the madrassah was believed to be the head- Before the fence had been erected, that the control of entry and exit points
quarters of the Haqqanis, who are blamed for some of the most terrorist groups used to take advantage of North Waziristan district have been
spectacular attacks on the US-led western forces in Afghanistan. of the porous border between Pakistan handed over to the civil administra-
It was perhaps for this reason that the region remained in and Afghanistan and sneaked in to tion. “When police come, the law and
the crosshairs of the CIA-led not-so-covert drone campaign for A Pakistani army helicopter is seen at a heliport in Waziristan carry out attacks on Pakistani border order situation would also improve,”
years. fenced. posts and villages, he said. he added. “Our purpose was to ‘clear,
Th e military has wrested back the control of North Wa- According to the military’s estimates, the colossal fence “Our area is under control now, hold, build and transfer.’”
ziristan where a medley of local and foreign militants reigned dotted with surveillance forts will be completed by the end of but the Afghans don’t have control on He added that the military was
until 2014. And the US drone strikes have also ceased since this year. “Th e fence is already showing results: A phenomenal their side, which is why the Chief of holding the region aft er purging it of
most ‘high-value targets’ have either been taken out by Pakistan drop in physical attacks by terrorists from across the border,” Army Staff (COAS) came up with the terrorists. Currently, the region is be-
Army or have slipped into Afghanistan. Maj Gen Ghafoor said. idea of fencing the border,” the mili- ing rebuilt with the help of state institu-
Th is was the result of a sustained military campaign by Th e Afghan government has reservations over the fencing tary spokesperson said. “Th e fence has tions and donors, he added. “Th e locals
Pakistan, which has not only driven away local militants but since it does not recognize the Durand Line as an international made it diffi cult for terrorists to cross will enjoy the peace dividends aft er the
also their Haqqani cohorts, said a senior military offi cer, who border between Pakistan and Afghanistan. the border. It has stopped cross-border transfer phase.”
is now spearheading eff orts to consolidate the operation gains. But security offi cials said Afghan troops were very happy terrorism and physical attacks are com- Th e military spokesperson called
When the Pakistan military had launched the operation in with the fencing because it has considerably reduced the move- ing to an end.” upon the locals to extend full coopera-
2014, there was skepticism in the Western media that militants ment of unwanted elements. Last year, the military said that it tion to the local administration in or-
of all hues would be targeted indiscriminately. Th e border fencing is not only meant to consolidate the would complete fencing the 2,611 kilo- der to further strengthen it. - Th e Ex-
On Sunday, the military’s media wing, the ISPR, took a se- gains of Pakistan’s anti-terror campaign but also aimed at deal- meters long border by the end of 2019 press Tribune
lect group of local and foreign journalists on a guided tour to ing with possible spillover of any chaos in Afghanistan aft er the
North Waziristan to show them the once dreaded region. withdrawal of US-led forces. situation has improved signifi cantly. We operation.
“Th e results [of the operation] are in front of you,” said the “A peace deal in Afghanistan would have a good impact are happy with the progress,” Muham- A modern market has now replaced
chief military spokesperson, Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor. “Th e mili- on Pakistan. If it doesn’t come through or takes longer to ma- mad Ahsan, a trader, told Th e Express Miramshah Bazaar, which was reduced
tary campaign has eliminated all those [terrorist] sanctuaries,” terialize, we are putting in place safeguards on our side. Th is Tribune. to a heap of rubbles during the military
he told Th e Express Tribune. fence will help us in reducing the direct impact on our side of Maj Gen Ghafoor also strolled campaign. Authorities have built as-
While he gave a detailed presentation on how secu- the border.” down the market where shoppers and phalted roads and upgraded hospitals
rity forces have purged the region of terrorist groups, military Life in the post-operation North Waziristan is limping traders jostled to shake his hands and and schools.
guards atop Ghulam Khan Fort monitored the movement of back to normalcy. Authorities have eased travel restrictions. shoot selfi es with him. But some complaints of local tribes-
locals in the area. “Now, you don’t need to get prior permission to visit Wa- “Th is was unthinkable a few years men have not yet been addressed. Th ey
Aft er fl ushing out militants, the military is now taking ziristan,” said the military spokesperson. ago. We could not visit this market let have not been compensated for the losses
steps to secure the porous border with Afghanistan to stop them Th e touring media representatives were driven to a mar- alone mingling with locals,” said an in- they suff ered during the military cam-
from sneaking back in. A robust border mechanism has been ket in Miramshah, the main town of North Waziristan where telligence offi cial, who has witnessed the paign, while cellular service has also not
put in place whereby the 2,600-kilometer long frontier is being once terrorists roamed freely in their double-cabin SUVs. “Th e region’s transformation aft er the military been restored in the region.
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