Foreign firms warned to leave by Pakistani Taliban
Print Edition
THE Pakistani Taliban yesterday warned foreign firms to leave the country and vowed retaliatory strikes against the government after tanks, ground troops and jets were deployed in a long-awaited offensive in a troubled tribal district.
The warning came as Pakistan’s cities braced for revenge attacks by ramping up security at key installations and ordering soldiers to patrol the streets, while hospitals in the northwest prepared for casualties.
The offensive on North Waziristan, a stronghold of Taliban and al-Qaida militants, was launched a week after an insurgent attack on Pakistan’s main airport in Karachi which left dozens dead and marked the end of a peace process.
Pakistan’s Western allies, particularly the United States, have long demanded an operation in the mountainous territory to flush out groups which use the area to target NATO troops in neighboring Afghanistan.
The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan spokesman Shahidullah Shahid warned foreign countries to stop doing business with the government and supporting their “apostate army.”
“We warn all foreign investors, airlines and multinational corporations that they should immediately suspend their ongoing matters with Pakistan and prepare to leave Pakistan, otherwise they will be responsible for their own loss,” he said.
“We hold Nawaz Sharif’s government and the Punjabi establishment responsible for the loss of tribal Muslims’ life and property as a result of this operation,” he added, vowing to “burn your palaces” in Islamabad and Lahore.
The warning came as cities beefed up security, with troops seen patrolling the streets of Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi.
“The security of the capital was already on alert, but a new alert has been issued,” an Islamabad police spokesman said.
Police in Pakistan’s economic hub Karachi have declared a “red alert” and cancelled leave for all 27,000 personnel, spokesman Atiq Shaikh said.
And in northwestern Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province which borders the tribal zone, the government has declared a state of emergency in all hospitals, provincial health minister Shahram Khan Tarakai said.
Pakistani air force jets have been pounding suspected militant hideouts in the region since Sunday and have been joined by tanks and infantry engaging in heavy artillery strikes.
The death toll from the offensive so far stands at 177, according to the military, the majority through airstrikes but some through sniper fire.
But doubts remain about how sustainable any gains can be and whether Pakistan will abandon its long held policy of using jihadist proxies to influence neighboring countries.
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