US delayed information about IED factories: Maj Gen Rizwan

WANA: The General Officer Commanding in South Waziristan, Major General Rizwan Akhter has blamed the US for attempting to embarrass Pakistan by delaying information about explosives factories located in the agency, Geo News reported.

While speaking to the media, the Major General said that a third force was creating hurdles in Pak-Afghan ties.

He also spoke on the situation in South Waziristan and emphasized that the priority is to win the hearts and minds of people as peace has been restored in most parts of the agency.

On the issue of foreigners in the agency he said that they were not present in most of the areas but could not confirm their elimination.

On June 14, then US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates said that the Obama administration was disappointed by the unexplained failure of raids on militant compounds in the tribal areas.

Gates claimed that the CIA had shared information relating to IED factories being run by militants located in North and South Waziristan with Pakistan. However, when security forces raided the factories, the militants had disappeared. The Defense Secretary insisted that he did not know why the effort went awry.