IGP says Swat hilltops purged of militants

MINGORA: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Inspector General of Police (IGP) Moazzam Jah Ansari on Thursday said that all the hilltops in the Swat district had been cleared of militants and terrorists, promising complete peace would be restored to the valley within two to three months.

“All the mountains and hilltops have been forcibly vacated from the militants and now the police and army personnel are there to safeguard the area and maintain peace,” he said while addressing a press conference at the office of Regional Police Officer (RPO) in Saidu Sharif.

Malakand Division Commissioner Shaukat Ali Yousafzai, Deputy Inspector General of Police, Malakand Range, Zeeshan Asghar, Counter-Terrorism Department DIG Javed Iqbal and other officials were present on the occasion.

The top cop said that the banned Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan militants had left the Swat Valley after vacating the mountains of the district. The IGP said that the recent murder of driver of a private school van was not an act of terrorism, but linked to honour killing. “One of the three killers has been apprehended while the search for the others is going on and they would be arrested soon,” he explained.

It may be mentioned that a driver of a private school van was killed by gunmen in the Charbagh area of Swat Valley on October 10 last. The attackers had targeted the driver of the school van and wounded a student, who was sitting in the front seat with him. Similarly, he said the incident of firing in Lower Dir that seemed to target children was also an armed clash between two rival groups and not an act of terrorism.

“The KP Police have apprehended 63 extortionists from various parts of the province during the last six months. We are investigating the extortion calls to KP Minister Atif Khan,” he said and added that anyone who comes to the province for sabotage acts would be dealt with an iron hand.

The IGP said that the KP Police were well-equipped and had the capacity to cope with terrorists and militants and other criminals. He urged the local community to cooperate with the Police Department in identifying miscreants. “The people of Swat have rendered matchless sacrifices for restoration of peace. We would arrange Snow Festival in winter this year where thousands of tourists would be invited,” he added.

The IGP assured the people of Swat that no compromise would be made on the peace and security of the people of KP and stern action would be taken against miscreants and terrorists. Later, the police chief convened a meeting of police officers. Among the participants were Malakand RPO Asghar, the district police officer of Swat and others. He was briefed about the security situation and the overall law and order situation in the Swat district.