Islamabad/Parachinar June 30 (TNS): Chief of Army Staff Qamar (COAS) Gen Qamar Javad Bajwa on Friday assured the protesting residents of Parachinar that they will be provided fully-fledged security in the future and the army will take utmost measures to secure the entire border area. The army chief also announced a safe city project for Parachinar, where surveillance cameras and other monitoring gadgets will be installed to monitor the movement of vehicles and public
The army chief held a meeting with the elders of Parachinar, who have been protesting for the last one week against the twin blasts that ripped through the city on the eve of Eid, killing over 70 people and injuring scores of others. At least 75 people were killed and over 300 injured in the back-to-back twin bomb blasts.
Addressing the Jirga, Gen Bajwa expressed his grief and sorrow over the loss of innocent lives and promised to give every step for enhanced security for the residents.
Gen Bajwa told the Parachinar elders that the Pakistan Army was a national force and it was committed to providing security to the people irrespective of their caste and creed. He said that the Parachinar residents’ all genuine constitutional demands will be met and they will be provided equal rights as enjoyed by their counterparts in the rest of the country.
Earlier, the army chief was brief about the overall security situation in Parachinar and surrounding areas. The army chief ordered the army authorities to probe the circumstances and the security lapse that led to the twin blasts.
Earlier, Inter Servicer Public Relations (ISPR) Director General Maj-Gen Asif Ghafoor said on Friday that a fresh of the army was being dispatched to Parachinar to secure the restive region from further skirmishes and bomb blasts.
Talking to the media during his visit to Parachinar along with Army Chief Qamar Javed Bajwa, the ISPR chief said that the new batch was being dispatched on the order of the army chief, who has sought a comprehensive report on the overall security situation in Parachinar and other border areas and security lapses that led to the killing of over 70 people in the twin blasts last week. The army chief was briefed on the security situation in the area.
Maj-Gen Ghafoor said that each and every nook and corner of the country was equally important for the army, which is committed to securing and protecting the whole country.
“We (army) are above the sectarian line. The security of the whole country is equally important for the army. All the citizens are equal to us. The army chief has ordered to further work on the security aspect of the area. The border along Afghanistan being secured to stop infiltration of terrorists,” he said while talking to the media.
“The areas used by terrorists to enter Pakistan would be fenced in the first phase and in the second phase, the entire Pak-Afghan border would be fenced,” he said
