Pakistan says Haqqani network nearly destroyed

Iran Press TV

Aug 31, 2015 4:8PM

A top adviser to the Pakistani government says Pakistani troops have obliterated most of the terrorist Haqqani network in the country.

The prime minister’s adviser on national security and foreign affairs, Sartaj Aziz, said most of the Haqqani network's base had been destroyed by an army operation that began in the North Waziristan tribal district last month.

"The infrastructure of Haqqani network in North Waziristan, which includes IED [improvised explosive device] factories and a number of other capacities including communications, has been disrupted," Aziz said.

The Pakistani official, however, warned of the Haqqani network’s remaining capacity in neighboring Afghanistan.

"Our assessment is that their capacity in Afghanistan is much bigger, probably 80 to 90 percent compared to what is here and it is also being cleaned out as a part of our operations," he said.

Islamabad launched a huge military operation on June 15 in the restive North Waziristan tribal area, aimed at clearing the region of all militant groups stationed there, the Haqqani network in particular.

Chief spokesman for the Pakistani military, Major General Asim Bajwa, told reporters on July 1 that the offensive had targeted all terrorist networks in the country’s northwest.

“When they (soldiers) go there they will eliminate everyone without discrimination,” he said.

“Anybody who has been involved in terrorist activities, whether he is Haqqani or not Haqqani, is very much included," Minister for States and Frontier Regions Abdul Qadir Baloch also told reporters.

The Haqqani network is allied with Taliban and al-Qaeda militants and has conducted many attacks against US targets, including the 2009 Camp Chapman bombing in eastern Afghanistan, which killed seven CIA agents.

Washington says future payments of hundreds of millions of dollars in military aid to Pakistan are contingent upon Islamabad’s eradication of the group.