PML-N, PTI give subdued response to killing of high-ranking military officials

The PML-N and the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) have given muted response to the killing of two high-ranking military officials on the Afghan border.

Major General Sanaullah Khan, along with a lieutenant colonel Tauseef and Lance Naik Irfan Sattar, were killed after visiting an outpost near the border.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said that the Pakistan Army has made substantial sacrifices to protect the nation against the menace of terrorism and such cowardly acts by terrorists cannot deter the morale of armed forces, Dawn reports.

The Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has claimed responsibility for killing the senior officers, but Sahrif did not say anything about how his government would deal with the perpetrators of such attacks, neither did he addressed the TTP directly.

Meanwhile, the PTI leadership only condemned the attack and offered condolences to the bereaved families and praised the services of the armed forces.

The PTI statement, however, urged the government to expedite its efforts to implement recommendations of the APC which it believed would help the country re-determine its role in the war on terror.

According to the report, defence analyst Professor Hassan Askari Rizvi said that the new civilian government appeared to have been suffering from 'crisis of confidence' vis-a-vis the TTP and the reason for a muted response could also be the government's interest in holding peace talks with the militants.