MIRAMSHAH, Sept 15: Pakistan has busted the biggest Al Qaeda base in North Waziristan and recovered huge caches of weapons in a swoop that will cut violence in Afghanistan before key elections, the military said on Thursday. The base was in a seminary and a nearby compound owned by the son of a former minister of the Taliban, Lt-Gen Safdar Hussain said in Peshawar.

He said the owner, Sirajuddin Haqqani, whom he described as a senior Al Qaeda insurgent, had escaped after a tip-off.

“The raid on the Haqqani Madressah and compound is still going on but we can say we have busted the biggest Al Qaeda terrorist den in North Waziristan,” Lt-Gen Hussain told reporters.

“We have recovered 15 truckloads of ammunition and weapons from there and arms and ammunition are still being recovered,” he said.

“We also busted a communication centre which was used to coordinate operations in Afghanistan.”

Seven militants were captured in the operation, raising the number arrested this week to 28, Maj-Gen Mohammad Akram Sahi said in Miramshah where journalists were shown another cache of weapons recovered from militant hideouts.

“All 28 are Afghans,” Maj-Gen Sahi told reporters.

The weapons found in 18 compounds in Miramshah included anti-aircraft guns, rockets, improvised explosive devices, communication equipment and military fatigues.

Among them were pictures of Sirajuddin Haqqani and his father Jalaluddin Haqqani, a former anti-Soviet fighter who later served as the Taliban’s minister for frontier regions.

Lt-Gen Hussain said the border between the countries had been sealed and 763 guard posts had been established on the Pakistani side.

An overnight curfew had also been imposed and troops given orders to shoot on sight anyone found within 5km of the border, he said.

Afghanistan had only set up 120 posts on the border, he said, adding they “need to do more to stop infiltration.”

The operation would help reduce bloodshed blamed on the Taliban in the run-up to Afghanistan’s parliamentary elections on Sunday, he said.—AFP