Sana urges Achakzai to seize talks initiative

"Or I can go to him at the prime minister's house and give him an invitation."Speaking to reporters, Sanaullah said there was "no issue of ego or stubbornness" over a meeting between Shehbaz and Achakzai."This type of talk – come here or come there – does not change anything.

What is the rationale for this?" he said.Sanaullah said the two leaders could discuss constitutional matters when they met.Separately, the adviser warned that civilians could suffer collateral damage during planned intelligence-based operations in designated districts of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa if residents failed to remove militants from their communities or move away to allow security forces to operate.Speaking on the private television programme Naya Pakistan, Sanaullah said militants had entered Pakistan from Afghanistan….

He alleged that training camps across the border were funded and operated with Indian support, while reports had also suggested Israeli involvement in the attacks."That is why Pakistan's armed forces have closed the border with Afghanistan.

You must also be aware that no trade is taking place through that route," he said.Sanaullah said militant groups typically comprised three to 15 members and that around 70% of them were present in areas designated for the operations.

A separate development committee had also been established for the affected areas, he added.He said militants were hiding among local residents and living alongside ordinary citizens rather than operating openly.

Law enforcement agencies were conducting intelligence-based operations in the areas, he added.Sanaullah warned that civilians risked being caught in the crossfire if residents did not expel militants from populated areas or move away to allow security forces to proceed."People have been told either to drive these elements out of their populated areas or, if they do not want to do so, to move aside themselves so that the operation can….

If neither of these options is possible, there is a risk of collateral damage," he said.Asked how the planned operations would differ from previous intelligence-based operations, given that 7,177 such operations had been conducted over the past six months, Sanaullah said the provincial government and civil administration would be responsible for maintaining control of areas after they had been cleared of militants.The authorities would ensure that militants could not return….

Many areas were cleared three or four times, but the problem persisted because the responsibilities that should have been fulfilled by the provincial government and civil administration were not carried out.

Their attitude was, in fact, the opposite," he said.

Sana urges Achakzai to seize talks initiative Our Correspondent | Updated 36 minutes ago | Warns of civilian casualties in K-P operations.