Daily Times

PESHAWAR: Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General (DG) Lieutenant General Asim Bajwa on Tuesday said Pakistan wanted restoration of peace in Afghanistan but the baseless allegations hurled by Kabul hurdle the process.

He was talking to media at the Officers Mess in Peshawar after the Operation and Security Review meeting that was chaired by Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) General Raheel Sharif.

“Pakistan has always played the role of a responsible state and has restrained from pointing fingers at any state without solid proofs,” he said.

“The planning for attack on the Christian Colony was done in Afghanistan. Four attackers were brought to the border by a facilitator in Afghanistan. Another facilitator received them at the border and handed them over to another facilitator in Warsak. He provided night stay to the attackers before launching them at the Christian Colony. All four attackers were killed and three facilitators were arrested in Pakistan while the one in Afghanistan is still at large,” Bajwa informed the reporters.

Similarly all three facilitators of the suicide attack on the District Courts in Mardan have been arrested.

“The attacker was brought to Pakistan in the same pattern as the attackers of the Christian Colony. He stayed overnight with the last facilitator in Mardan before attacking the courts. Three suicide vests were seized from the facilitators,” he said.

Bajwa said all operations under Operation Zarb-e-Azb have been successfully completed and access routes of terrorists attempting to enter into Pakistan from Afghanistan have been sealed.

Talking about the repatriation of the tribally displaced persons (TDPs), the DG said they would go back home soon.

“The deadline for the return of the TDPs is set for end of November. There are still two months left and we have completed 75 percent work on the return strategy,” he added.

He also said it is regrettable that Pakistan was blamed soon after the Uri attack without any evidence having surfaced.

He said Chief of Army Staff General Raheel Sharif questioned the terrorist networks in Afghanistan during his recent visit to Germany. Bajwa said a special operational meeting was held soon after return of General Raheel from Germany.