LANDI KOTAL: Commandant Khyber Rifles Colonel Mansoor Janjua has claimed that militants in tribal areas are getting financial support from the United States and India to wage war against their own Muslim brothers on the pretext of jihad.

Speaking at the passing out parade of 44 new recruits of Khyber Rifles here at the army garrison on Monday, Colonel Janjua said that blood of thousands of

innocent tribesmen had been spilled in the name of religion and also to destabilise Pakistan at the behest of the enemies of the country. “It is time people of Fata joined hands with security forces to cleanse the area of all miscreants and

establish lasting peace there,” he said.

The army official said that protection of lives and properties of the citizens was the top priority of the security forces and they would fulfill their responsibility at all costs. Speaking about the ongoing military

operation in North Waziristan, he said that it would continue till the elimination of the last militant from the region. “Those who took weapons and fought against Pakistan would not be tolerated,” he said. — Bureau Report

Published in Dawn, June 24th, 2014