RAWALPINDI: Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General Major General Babar Iftikhar on Wednesday said that efforts were underway to arrest Pakistan Tehreek-e-Taliban (TTP) former spokesman Ehsanullah Ehsan.

Speaking to journalists affiliated with foreign media outlets on Wednesday, he said that the video tape linked to the former TTP spokesperson is not real and his twitter account from which a threat was hurled to Malala Yousafzai is also fake, adding that he was not aware of Ehsan’s whereabouts at the moment.

The DG ISPR said that the Ehsanullah Ehsan’s escape was a very serious matter and efforts were underway for his arrest, adding that action has already been taken against the army men involved in helping escape the TTP ex-spokesperson from the military’s detention.

Maj Gen Babar Iftikhar said that the commission on missing persons has made a lot of progress, adding that out of more than 6,000 cases in the commission, 4,000 have been resolved and this matter will be resolved soon.

He said, “Several men have been arrested in connection with the murder of 11 miners and these arrests were important.

“India is helping anti-Pakistan extremists by providing weapons and latest technology,” he said and added Afghan intelligence agency is aware of this nexus.

The military’s media wing chief said made it clear that the policy of the government of Pakistan is to extend a hand of peace to the neighbors, adding that in a recent statement, Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa also spoke of extending a hand of peace, however, this does not mean that we are not aware of the danger on the eastern border. “We have an eye on all Indian military movements,” he added.

Babar Iftikhar said Pakistan has beefed up security in Balochistan in efforts to protect the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) projects there amid the surging terrorist attacks by proxies of hostile agencies.

Pakistan pays a lot of attention to CPEC, and after recent terrorist attacks, security for the CPEC has been beefed up directly and indirectly by providing more security to CPEC projects and enhancing security in the whole province to ensure smooth work at CPEC projects, he said and added "We have raised two division-size security settlements which are dedicated to providing security to CPEC, besides that we have increased the number of paramilitary troops' units from one to two in the province to ensure security," he said.

Speaking on the security situation in Balochistan, he said that the capacity of the militants has been enhanced with using more sophisticated and modern weapons to launch attacks, but the military is going after them aggressively.

The military has been carrying out intelligence-based operations against the militants, who are forced to come out of their hideouts in frustration and launch retaliatory attacks, but they are cornered and will be eliminated soon, said Iftikhar.

He said that there was regrouping of small terrorist outfits in tribal areas along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, adding that the Pakistani Army has arrested a few in actions on tip-offs. NNI