JI chief takes on army, asks Kayani to 'explain success against militants' in Pak's tribal areas

Islamabad, July 18 (ANI): The Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) chief has urged Army Chief General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani to explain to the nation the 'so called success' of the ongoing military operations in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA).

"General Kayani had promised before the start of military operation in Swat that militancy from across the country would be completely eliminated and that it wouldn't be allowed to resurface. Therefore, he owes an explanation to the entire nation as to how far the army has succeeded in eliminating or even curtailing militancy in the country," The Dawn quoted JI chief Munawar Hassan, as saying.

Hasan also urged the army to give the media a chance to independently report the results of the FATA military operations.

He said military operations and U.S. drone strikes had caused great destruction in FATA and made thousands of families homeless.

"It is the responsibility of the army and PPP-led coalition government to immediately halt all military operations in tribal areas, compensate their victims, rehabilitate internally displaced persons and reconstruct infrastructure," he said. (ANI)