WASHINGTON: The militants of the Islamic State group may have some individuals in Pakistan but they are not a major cause of concern, says the chief spokesman for the Pakistani military.

Read: Islamic State footprints surface in parts of Bannu

In reply to a question about IS presence in Pakistan, during an interview to VOA Deewa (Pashto service), ISPR chief Maj Gen Asim Saleem Bajwa said: “There could be isolated cases where they are trying to show their presence or to become relevant, but I don’t see this growing” into a major threat.

About Operation Zarb-i-Azb, Gen Bajwa said the military had already pushed the militants out of their main access route and from two arteries in North Waziristan, the east-west Bannu-Dattakhel corridor and Ghulam Khan and Spinwam Shiva routes.

Published in Dawn, November 16th , 2014