PAF jet pounds Taliban positions; three soldiers injured
Three Pakistani security personnel were injured on Thursday when militants attacked a check post in the restive South Waziristan, even as the army said it had no plans to launch an offensive in North Waziristan despite an attack by the Taliban that killed 30 soldiers.
Three Pakistani security personnel were injured on Thursday when militants attacked a check post in the restive South Waziristan, even as the army said it had no plans to launch an offensive in North Waziristan despite an attack by the Taliban that killed 30 soldiers.
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The militants attacked the check post at Spinkai Raghzai in South Waziristan, injuring three soldiers, TV news channels reported. In retaliation, militant positions were targeted by artillery, jets and gunship helicopters.
The army is preparing for a push into the stronghold of Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan chief Baitullah Mehsud in South Waziristan and air strikes have been launched to soften up militant positions before ground forces launch an assault.
Meanwhile, the army’s helicopters yesterday dropped leaflets in North Waziristan that said it had no intention of launching an operation in the region despite an attack on a military convoy by a Taliban faction on Sunday that killed about 30 soldiers.
Hafiz Gul Bahadur, the leader of the Taliban faction that carried out the attack, has also announced the scrapping of a year-old peace accord with the government.
Rezaul Hasan Laskar is Foreign Editor with the Hindustan Times, which he joined in 2015. He began as a journalist in his hometown of Shillong in northeast India and has worked in newspapers and wire services over the years. He moved to New Delhi in 1997 and initially focused on defence, national security, Jammu and Kashmir and the northeast, while also working of foreign policy and international relations. He has been part of the media delegation accompanying PMs on foreign visits and has reported from destinations ranging from Tibet to Ukraine. Between 2007 and 2013, he was the Press Trust of India correspondent in Pakistan, one of only two Indian journalists allowed to report from the country. He extensively covered Pakistan’s domestic politics and the life of the common people, as well as the fallout of the 2008 Mumbai attacks on India-Pakistan relations and the subsequent trial in Pakistan of the suspects involved in the attack. As part of his reportage in Pakistan, he travelled the breadth of the country, from the Swat Valley to Balochistan. Reza’s first gig in journalism was writing a weekly music column, and music – especially classic rock – remains a keen interest. He is also a movie buff and a keen photographer.
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