Two key TTP commanders arrested in Balochistan

QUETTA: Balochistan Home Minister Mir Ziaullah Langove on Wednesday announced the arrest of two high-value commanders of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) ARY News reported.

Speaking at a press conference in Quetta, the provincial minister said that TTP commanders have been identified as Nasrullah alias “Maulvi Mansoor” and Idris alias “Irshad”.

“Terrorists Nasrullah […] and Idris have been arrested after a difficult operation,” Balochistan Home Minister Mir Ziaullah Langove said.

He further said: “India is behind terrorist attacks in the country and provides financial support to the militants.”

The arrests came a day after the federal cabinet approved Operation Azm-e-Istehkam — a reinvigorated and re-energised national counter-terrorism drive decided by the National Action Plan’s Central Apex Committee.

Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif also ruled out any large-scale military operation under the vision Azm-e-Istehkam, saying that ongoing Intelligence-Based Operations (IBOs) will be intensified.

Speaking at the federal cabinet meeting called on to take the members into confidence about the prevailing ‘misunderstanding and speculations’ about the Azm-e-Istehkam, the prime minister had said that instead of any large-scale operation, the already ongoing intelligence-based kinetic operations would be energised.

PM Shehbaz said that the Azm-e-Istehkam is a multi-domain and whole-of-system national vision aimed at decisively rooting out the nebulous and shadowy presence of remnants of terrorists, and violent extremism.

“A large-scale armed operation would require displacement and the initiation of such an operation under Vision Azm-i-Istehkam is merely a misunderstanding, ”he added.