In the late hours of Tuesday 20 December, DG ISPR Major General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry told a private news channel that the security operation in Bannu cantonment, where a CTD facility was overrun by detained militants, had concluded. Defence Minister Khawaja Asif made a similar statement on the floor of the house at the National Assembly earlier on Tuesday afternoon.
https://twitter.com/correspondentPk/status/1605198035054923779
But independent sources are reporting that the engagement between security forces, including elite SSG commandos of the Pakistan Army, and TTP-affiliated militants was still going on during Wednesday morning. Intermittent gunfire could be heard in the vicinity of Bannu cantonment, according to some reports.
https://twitter.com/ShabbirTuri/status/1605431801945661441
The CTD "internment" facility in Bannu Cantt was reported to be under attack by militants on Sunday; the 'attack' reportedly took place during the afternoon but was only reported by media in the evening. There is confusion as to whether only the detained militants overtook the CTD facility, or if there was an attack from the outside that resulted in the facility being overrun.
In a security operation yesterday (Tuesday), at least two SSG commandos were martyred in the effort to wrest control of the CTD facility from the militants. Official sources had also said that the operation in Bannu had concluded sometime in Tuesday evening; some clarified that "search and clearance operations" were still being carried out in the vicinity.
Tight controls on the Pakistani media, especially in terms of reporting on security affairs and matters related to terrorism, have prevented a clear and transparent understanding of what really went on in Bannu during the past few days.
https://twitter.com/khorasandiary/status/1604483115761573888
https://twitter.com/INTELPSF/status/1604488555551678465
In the absence of timely and reliable inputs from official sources, or of any credible and consistent reporting by the mainstream media, it has been observed with concern that people - especially on social media - are turning to updates in the form of "terrorist propaganda" and spreading that "to the detriment of Pakistan".
https://twitter.com/IftikharFirdous/status/1605168082443452416
However, this also points to the state's failed policy of attempting to "control" the narratives discussed on mainstream media, and how it has polarized public opinion across Pakistan in the age of disinformation, misinformation and social media hype. The Pakistani public remains fixated on politics and the country's economic troubles, as the spectre of terrorism has re-emerged across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa during the past year.
https://twitter.com/correspondentPk/status/1605198035054923779
But independent sources are reporting that the engagement between security forces, including elite SSG commandos of the Pakistan Army, and TTP-affiliated militants was still going on during Wednesday morning. Intermittent gunfire could be heard in the vicinity of Bannu cantonment, according to some reports.
https://twitter.com/ShabbirTuri/status/1605431801945661441
The CTD "internment" facility in Bannu Cantt was reported to be under attack by militants on Sunday; the 'attack' reportedly took place during the afternoon but was only reported by media in the evening. There is confusion as to whether only the detained militants overtook the CTD facility, or if there was an attack from the outside that resulted in the facility being overrun.
In a security operation yesterday (Tuesday), at least two SSG commandos were martyred in the effort to wrest control of the CTD facility from the militants. Official sources had also said that the operation in Bannu had concluded sometime in Tuesday evening; some clarified that "search and clearance operations" were still being carried out in the vicinity.
Tight controls on the Pakistani media, especially in terms of reporting on security affairs and matters related to terrorism, have prevented a clear and transparent understanding of what really went on in Bannu during the past few days.
https://twitter.com/khorasandiary/status/1604483115761573888
https://twitter.com/INTELPSF/status/1604488555551678465
In the absence of timely and reliable inputs from official sources, or of any credible and consistent reporting by the mainstream media, it has been observed with concern that people - especially on social media - are turning to updates in the form of "terrorist propaganda" and spreading that "to the detriment of Pakistan".
https://twitter.com/IftikharFirdous/status/1605168082443452416
However, this also points to the state's failed policy of attempting to "control" the narratives discussed on mainstream media, and how it has polarized public opinion across Pakistan in the age of disinformation, misinformation and social media hype. The Pakistani public remains fixated on politics and the country's economic troubles, as the spectre of terrorism has re-emerged across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa during the past year.