TTP militants in KP region between 7,000 and 10,000: Pak Minister

INTERNATIONAL DESK: Blaming the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government for not paying heed to the security of the region, Pakistan Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah on Wednesday said that an estimated number of around 7,000 to 10,000 Tehreek-i-Taliban-Pakistan (TTP) militants are present in the region, Dawn reported.

The Interior Minister claimed that the militants who had previously laid down arms have now secretly resumed activities, wreaking havoc in the region. In an interview with Dawn News TV programme, the Minister revealed they were accompanied by 25,000 members of their families.

“The biggest reason for this is the failure of [the] Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government and Counter Terrorism Department […] It is their job to stop it,” Dawn quoted Sanaullah as saying.

Sanaullah claimed that the provincial government had failed to restrain some people who were engaged in extortion and blackmail as well as other crimes.

The TTP in the last year has conducted hundreds of terror attacks on the police and army headquarters in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Quetta in the Balochistan region. The Khaama Press article quoted unconfirmed reports which said that other militant groups have joined forces with the TTP to expand their terrorist operation in tribal areas of the country.

The Khaama Press in its report also mentioned that these attacks can increase in number as the TTP recently ended the ceasefire that they had with the Pakistani authorities. However, the common people in Pakistan have been showing their aggression in the matter via protests like the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement [PTM] demanding the establishment take action against these groups.

Previously, on December 23 a suicide bombing shook Islamabad killing two conspirators and a policeman. Along with this at least three police officers and seven passers-by were wounded in the bombing.

Pakistan’s capital city took place nine miles from the garrison city of Rawalpindi, home of the military and government spy agencies.

“Security has been re-alert in Islamabad. Carrying weapons is not allowed under any circumstances. Election-related meetings will not take place without the permission of the police. Election activities and corner meetings will be allowed inside the four walls,” Islamabad Police tweeted.

Police said the blast took place when police officers spotted a car and ordered the driver to halt for routine checking. Instead of stopping, its driver detonated explosives hidden inside. A female passenger in the car also was killed, Suhail Zafar Chattha, a senior police officer in Islamabad told reporters at the scene.

The responsibility for the attack was later taken by TTP. In a statement, TTP announced that the killing was orchestrated because of the killing of their senior leader. (ANI)