Former Pakistan Army chief General (r) Ashfaq Parvez Kayani has said that an operation could not be launched during his tenure because of fears that an offensive attack in North Waziristan could lead to a spill over into settled areas.
The former COAS in an interview with a Saudi Arabia based newspaper said that, “Banned TTP’s fighters fled to Afghanistan’s Nuristan and Kunar provinces,” adding that the desired objectives could not be achieved in the war against terrorism because militants continued to flee into Afghanistan.
However, according to the former army chief, the Pakistan Army and Rangers are still on the militants’ hit list.
Facilitators and sympathisers of militants have infiltrated major cities of the country, particularly the coastal city Karachi, he added.
The former army chief said Indian Intelligence Agency RAW has established a huge network near Jalalabad, Afghanistan, where young boys that were kidnapped from Pakistan and Afghanistan are being recruited for terror activities.
Commenting on Army Public School attack, he questioned what would have happened if the masterminds of APS attack had fled to Afghanistan. “Handing over these militants to Pakistan will be a difficult phase,” he said.
The former army chief also revealed that some quarters in the US administration wanted to punish Pakistan for their own failure in Afghanistan. In defence of former chief of Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Shuja Pasha, Kayani said Pasha expelled dangerous American spies from Pakistan who were working against the country’s interests.