Two NA members behind military check post attack, NA panel told

ISLAMABAD (92 News) – The National Assembly Standing Committee on Defence was informed on Tuesday that a mob led by two members of National Assembly (NA) attacked a military check post at Boya in North Waziristan tribal district. Briefing the NA panel on the incident, Defence Secretary Ikramul Haq said the check post was attacked from North Waziristan’s Doga village twice last month. Subsequently, he added, security forces arrested two suspicious individuals in connection with the attacks. As a result, a group of people associated with Mohsin Dawar staged a protest against the arrest of the two suspects on May 26, he said and added the protesters had agreed to call off their sit-in upon release of one of the two arrested men. The defence secretary said Dawar and Ali Wazir called the protesters, restraining them from ending the sit-in. He said the two lawmakers reached the protest site and clashed with the security personnel guarding the check post. He said stones were hurled first and then gunshots fired at the check post as a result of which five Pakistan Army soldiers got injured yet the servicemen exercised maximum restraint. On the occasion, Committee chairman Amjad Ali Khan said that the attack on the check post is sorrowful. He asserted that the nation stand with their armed forces and no one would be allowed to shatter the national security and peace. Former Senate chairman Raza Rabbani said that the India had planned to make Pakistan as weaker and destabilize. He also said that the nexus has made of US, Israel and India, however, the Senate committee should make fast pace on the PTM’s matter. “They wanted to exert pressure for the release of suspected terrorists’ facilitator arrested the other day. Troops at the check post exercised maximum restraint in the face of provocation and direct firing on the post,” the ISPR said. It also said that the attackers came with a motive to release some suspected terrorists, however, three attackers were killed and 10 sustained injuries in the exchange of fire, ISPR said. It added that due to the firing of the group as many as five soldiers also got injured. According to the ISPR, PTM’s leader Ali Wazir among seven aides were taken into custody, whereas, Mohsin Dawar [Member of National Assembly and PTM’s leader] managed to flee from the location.