LAHORE: Chief Minister Usman Buzdar has condemned attack on a vehicle of the army with an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) planted on a road in Kharqamar area of North Waziristan.

The chief minister expressed condolence with the families of the martyred officers and a soldier and prayed for the early recovery of the injured. He said Lt Col Rashid Kareem Baig, Maj Moeez Maqsood, Capt Arifullah and Lance Havaldar Zaheer Ahmed laid down their lives to protect the future of the nation.

He said brave officers and soldiers had sacrificed their lives for ensuring peace in the country and their sacrifices would not go in vain.

JI: The Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) has expressed grief over the martyrdom of three army officers and a soldier in North Waziristan.

In a condolence message, JI chief Sirajul Haq said that the martyrs were the heroes of the nation and the nation was proud of their sacrifices.

Mr Haq is set to return home on Sunday (today) after a two-week stay in Saudi Arabia. He would lead a protest movement on June 16 from Lahore against price hike, unemployment, “slavery” to the International Monetary Fund and accountability for all, without waiting for a response from other political forces, which also plan protests in the next few weeks.

Meanwhile, JI acting chief Liaquat Baloch said the martyrdom of three officers and soldier in Northern Waziristan and FC officials and citizens in a terrorist attack at Harnai were alarming. He said the sacrifices of the armed forces were praiseworthy. Their “financial sacrifice” due to budget constraints was also commendable, he claimed.

He also stated that at a time when India’s atrocities in held Kashmir were on the rise, Prime Minister Imran Khan’s letter to his Indian counterpart for dialogue reflected a weak stance.

Baloch also said the government was trying to push the judiciary to the wall and the lawyers’ protest against the reference would be justified.

Published in Dawn, June 9th, 2019