Director General, Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) Major General Asif Ghafoor said on Wednesday that Operation Khyber 4 in Rajgal valley was progressing successfully and around 95% physical objectives had been achieved.
“This was one of the most difficult operations because the terrain was like that. But this has been a very good operation. We utilized all our technical means, while minimum causalities took place,” he told a private TV channel.
He said the Operation Khyber 4 was launched at around 12000-14000 feet altitude. The army could reach there for operation, but ensuring supply chain, including ammunition and ration, for it at such a height was not easy.
He expressed the satisfaction that the security forces had achieved great success in the operation stating, “The physical area has been cleared and now only its sanitization is in progress.”
The ISPR DG said he would announce the completion of the Operation Khyber 4 in a press conference in next two to three days.
To a question, he said the nature of Operation Radd-ul-Fasaad was different from the previous operations as a comprehensive national approach was behind it. Besides Pakistan Army, other state institutions were also involved in it.
The previous operations, he said, were launched for physical clearance of a specific area.
He said till the end of Operation Zarb-e-Azb “we had cleared most of the areas except Shawal and Rajgal valley’s area, where Operation Khyber-4 is in progress.”
The major feature of Radd-ul-Fasaad, he said, was Intelligence Based Operations (IBOs), meaning this was against the terrorists, who were hiding at some place as well as against their facilitators and abettors all across Pakistan.
“It is like your searching for a needle in the ocean. You don’t know who is the terrorist. When after placing arms he moves like a common citizen it becomes difficult to identify him.”
He said intelligence agencies after different technical and physical surveillance get the lead to find such terrorists. “It takes weeks and months for such a target to get matured.”
Referring to Wednesday’s operation in which Major Ali Salman and three other soldiers sacrificed their lives, he said this was an IBO.
Sharing the details, he said the suicide bombers and terrorists were hiding in Upper Dir’s village Sherotkai. “This is around 40 kilometres from Afghan border. They (terrorists) had come from Afghanistan and their programme was to do terrorism in Malakand Division, in KP or in any other part of the country on the Independence Day,” he added.
Underling the meed for unity, he quoted the Army Chief as saying, “We (Army) can fight the terrorists but for fighting terrorism we have to fight like a nation.
“Terrorists try to make ineffective the forces of order and peace (Pakistan Army) and other state institutions,” he said adding that the working of state institutions would bring an end to terrorism, which would ensure rule of the law.
He said terrorists did not acknowledge rule of the law but success of security forces would ensure that. “When a common citizen will feel himself secure to walk on the road then rule of the law will be restored. The day is not far when every citizen will feel himself safe,” he added. (APP)
