File photo. Courtesy Radio Pakistan
In visit to Peshawar Corps Headquarters, premier appreciates security forces for their assistance to the civil administration
Prime Minister Imran Khan on Friday was briefed on security forces’ plans to tackle the evolving security situation along the Pak-Afghan border, expressing satisfaction over the effectiveness of the border management regime and measures taken to ensure internal security.
According to a statement issued by the Prime Minister’s Office, the prime minister was briefed in detail on the prevalent security situation, the ongoing stabilization operations, the fencing of the Pak-Afghan border, and the socioeconomic development projects underway in the erstwhile tribal areas during his visit to the Peshawar Corps Headquarters.
“The P.M. lauded security forces for providing an enabling environment for the completion of socioeconomic development projects in the newly merged districts of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, which are vital for enduring stability and sustainable progress of the area,” it said, adding that he had also appreciated the formation for its assistance to the civil administration during the COVID-19 pandemic, last year’s locust invasion, the polio vaccination campaigns, and his flagship tree plantation drive.
According to officials present at the briefing, the prime minister and his delegation were informed that 98 percent of the Pak-Afghan border had already been fenced, with only some sections in Mohmand, Kurram and North Waziristan left to be completed. He was also informed that some parts of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa—North and South Waziristan and Bajaur—were under threat because of the presence of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan militants and other groups based in Afghanistan. They said the prime minister had also advised utilizing alternative dispute mechanisms in accordance with local customs to ensure “quick and cheap” dispensation of justice in the erstwhile tribal areas.
The prime minister was accompanied by Pakistan Army chief Gen. Qamar Javed Bajwa during his visit. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Mahmood Khan, Governor Shah Farman, and the director generals of Inter-Services Intelligence, Military Intelligence, military operations and general officers commanding were also present.
Upon his arrival, the prime minister laid a floral wreath at the Martyrs’ Monument.