Senate Defence Committee visits North Waziristan

Lahore: The Chairman of the Senate Defence Committee, Senator Mushahid Hussain Sayed has lauded the valiant Pakistan Army for’fighting the battle for the soul and future of Pakistan’.  He made these remarks in the course of a historic visit of the Senate Defence Committee which was led by him to North Waziristan today.  This was the first ever visit of any parliamentary committee to that war torn part of FATA.

He thanked the Chief of Army Staff, General Raheel Sharif had especially invited the Senate Defence Committee to visit Waziristan, and Senator Mushahid Hussain led a high powered delegation which went in a military helicopter, first to Peshawar where he laid wreath for the martyred school children of the Army Public School as well as the military shuhada who have sacrificed their lives in the war on terror at the Corp Headquarters.

In Peshawar, they were given a special briefing by the Corps Commander, Lt. Gen. Hidayat ur Rehman who briefed them on the operation against terrorists being carried out.  In his briefing, the Corps Commander informed the committee that since 2007, 439 major military operations and 1808 minor military operations were carried out under the command of the Peshawar Corps. Any operation which is more than that of a military battalion is classified as a major operation.  Since 2001, the Pakistan Army has suffered a total of 4173 fatalities and 13000 wounded in the war on terror.

The Senate Defence Committee was also informed that over 900 million dollars have been spent in development and construction work in FATA under the supervision of the Pakistan Army.

During its visit to Miran Shah, which is the main city of North Waziristan just 18 kms from Afghanistan border, the delegation was received by GOC Maj. Gen. Zafarullah Khan who briefed the delegation about Operation Zarb-e-Azb which was launched on June 15, 2014.  He said that since the launch of Operation Zarb-e-Azb, 1300 terrorists have been killed, 600 have surrendered while 233 have been arrested. From the Pakistan Army side, so far there have been 63 shaheeds and 238 wounded in operation Zarb-e-Azb.

Briefing the delegation, Maj. Gen. Zafarullah Khan told the Defence Committee that the terrorists infrastructure in North Waziristan have been destroyed with 40 factories producing illicit arms, ammunition and IEDs demolished and 137 tons of explosive material for making IEDs was unearthed. The General also escorted the delegation to various parts of Miran Shah where they was bunkers, basements where ammunition explosives and hate literature had been hidden.

On the way back, the delegation was also taken to the Bakka Khel Camp for Temporarily Displaced Persons (TDPs) where 20,000 persons from North Waziristan are living with their families under the military supervision.  During the briefing by Maj. Gen. Rao who is incharge of the rehabilitation and reconstruction operation, the delegation was informed that close to Rs.90 billion would be needed for the final return of rehabilitation and reconstruction of destroyed properties of the TDPs. The delegation praised the efficient functioning and friendly atmosphere in the TDP Camp.

Addressing the officers and soldiers during the visit, Senator Mushahid Hussain said that “the people, political parties and parliament of Pakistan are proud of their armed forces for waging valiant war to preserve and protect Quaid-i-Azam’s Pakistan. He also praised the “tremendous initiative and outstanding leadership demonstrated by Army Chief General Raheel Sharif who has led from the front in the war on terror and has reversed wrongs of the past which were based on faulty assumptions by drawing a distinction between good and bad terrorists’.

Senator Mushahid Hussain said that “we are your voice in parliament as you have displayed professionalism of the highest order and  exemplary courage and he said that this was not only the need of the hour but this was something that should have been undertaken long before.  He added that the  “road to peace, security and stability in Pakistan and the region lies through peace and prosperity in North Waziristan”.

The delegation was also briefed that a number of foreign terrorists have been killed in the operation which included Arabs, Chenchens, Uzbeks and Uighurs. They were also informed about the de-radicalization programme as well as efforts for promoting education of FATA.  Of the 2096 persons, who went to the de-radicalization programme, only 15 had chosen to revert back to the path of militancy while the rest have joined society as normal law abiding citizens. The delegation was also told by the Corps Commander that this year alone, 455 students from FATA were studying in various universities of Pakistan.

During the visit to Bakka Khel, the delegation was informed that over 50 NGOs and institutions of civil society were playing positive role for the rehabilitation and reconstruction of the TDPs.

Members of the Senate Defene Committee who accompanied Senator Mushahid Hussain Sayed, included Senator Chaudhry Shujat Hussain, Senator Raja Zafarul Haq, Senator Haji Adeel, Senator Farhatullah Babar, Senator Sehar Kamran and Senator Abdul Rauf. Dr. Syed Parvaiz Abbas, Secretary of the Committee also accompanied the delegation.