Pakistan army-KP administration confrontation deepens over terror in the region

New Delhi, Aug 26 (SocialNews.XYZ) The police and the army in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakthunkwa (KP) are engaged in a major face-off over the latter’s sheltering of terrorists. The police in the region have been protesting and have accused the army of being soft on terrorists, who are threatening peace and tranquillity in the region.

The KP region has been on boil for long with violence terrorist incidents being reported almost daily. The police have accused the army of meddling with the law and order situation in the region and this has become detrimental in the fight against terror.

Officials say that the Pakistan army finds itself in a spot of bother as even the general public has been standing in support of the police. Recently the Pakistan administration effected the transfer of seven police officials.

This, the people and the police say is an attempt to weaken counterterrorism operations that are taking place in the region. An Intelligence Bureau official says that KP has been on the boil for long. This is mainly because the army is not allowing the district administration to function.

Instead, the Pakistani army has been sending its own terrorists into KP to battle against outfits such as the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). The Pakistanis have several times without evidence have accused the Afghan Taliban of backing the TTP, the official added. The protests are currently taking place in the Bannu area where the problem of terrorism is higher.

The Bannu Police Peace Committee which is leading the protests has accused the army of too much interference. They have said that if officers are shuffled around and terrorists are protected by the Pakistan army, the situation in Bannu and Lakki Marwat would continue to deteriorate.

The face-off between the administration in KP and the Pakistan army has been an ongoing affair. Last year, the Chief Minister of KP, Ali Amin Gandapaur had accused the army and ISI of unwarranted interference each time the local police arrest terrorists. Another official said that each time an arrest is made, the army immediately orders their release.

The army says that these are their own people and they were visiting KP on government work. This has largely affected the battle against terrorism and this explains why the police are up in arms against the army and ISI, the official said. These latest rounds of protests by the police and the public will only worsen the law and order situation in the region.

Further, this could escalate into a major confrontation between the administration in KP and the Pakistani establishment, officials say. The police have also accused the ISI and army of personally bringing in terrorists into protected or peaceful areas. They are then instructed to unleash attacks on the innocent people.

This has largely affected the morale of the police who are taking on the establishment’s terrorists in the region. Officials say that this seems to be the case even when it comes to Balochistan and most recently Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK). In Balochistan, the army has been using the Lashkar-e-Tayiba and Islamic State to battle against the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA).

In the PoK, when the peaceful protests broke out the ISI sent terrorists to incite tensions that would eventually lead to violence. The situation in KP has been tense and the people like in the case of Balochistan and PoK have been demanding peace, prosperity and stability.

The Army has instead being engineering terror attacks and also ensuring the safe passage of terrorists in and out of the region, an official said.

Source: IANS