Karachi operation is not against any political party: Gen Raheel

KARACHI: Terming the Karachi operation apolitical and impartial, Pakistan’s Army Chief General Raheel Sharif on Monday said the ongoing operation in the city was not being carried out against any political party.

Addressing a high-level security meeting chaired by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif at the Governor House here, the Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) said the operation by Rangers and police was against terrorists and their sympathizers and facilitators.

The network of terrorists and their facilitators has been dismantled in the country by the actions taken by the security forces, he was quoted as saying.

Better cooperation between federal and provincial governments was needed for durable peace, he added.

Ahead of the high-level meeting, Army Chief Gen Raheel also chaired a meeting at Corps Headquarters Karachi to review security situation in the port city and rest of Sindh earlier in the day.

Corps Commander Karachi Lt-Gen Naveed Mukhtar, DG ISI Lt-Gen Rizwan Akhtar and DG Rangers Major Gen Bilal Akbar attended the meeting.

General Raheel lauded Army, Rangers, intelligence and other law enforcement agencies for noticeable improvement in security situation through ongoing operations and for peaceful conduct of Local Bodies elections.