RAWALPINDI: Director General (DG) Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) Major General Asim Bajwa claimed Thursday that a large portion of North Waziristan had been cleared in Operation Zarb-i-Azb.

Holding a press conference, the ISPR spokesman further said the operation is progressing successfully, adding that Operation Khyber-1 is also underway with full force.

Mullah Fazlullah ordered Peshawar attack: ISPR spokesman

Talking about the Peshawar school carnage, he said the attack was ordered by Tehreek-i-Taliban (TTP) Chief Mullah Fazlullah who divided his force into two groups. Omar Ameer took responsibility for the operation while Haji Kamran was made the head of the operation.

Giving a breakdown, Bajwa said there were 27 terrorists in total out of which 12 had been arrested, nine were killed whereas six were still being hunted down. He also said most of the terrorists were Pakistani nationals.

He said one of the terrorists Taj alias Rizwan had six men under him — three of whom were killed by security forces during the siege at the army-run school, while the others were killed during military action in North Waziristan.

The DG further said six of the 12 arrests were made from Afghanistan and expressed his thanks to the Afghan government for their assistance in improving border coordination.

Bajwa said they were confident that all the remaining terrorists would be arrested at the earliest. "Mullah Fazlullah and Aurangzeb alias Omar Ameer are currently in Afghanistan and they will be captured soon. Intelligence agencies are working on this in a very focused manner."

In response to a question, Bajwa said Fazlullah's arrest was being discussed fervently. "He is a known terrorist, his capture and handover to Pakistan are being discussed with the Afghan leadership and we are hopeful that we will hear a quick response from them in this regard."

The ISPR spokesman revealed that a militant commander named Hazrat Ali collected funds to carry out the APS attack. "Terrorists formed a base in the house of a local mosque cleric near the school," he said.

He also claimed that running a large organisation like the TTP and having sufficient funds for its sustenance was not possible without international funding.

Legal process for trying terrorists in military courts has begun: DG ISPR

The ISPR spokesperson said the legal process for trying terrorists in military courts has begun. He said 12 cases had been received for trial by military courts, adding that they were all of hardened terrorists.

He said the procedure for establishing military courts took very long.

Bajwa alludes to Indian hand in terrorism

Bajwa alluded to Indian involvement in terrorist activities in tribal areas and Balochistan and made it clear that the issue has been taken up by dignitaries at the foreign level.

Responding to a question about Indian links to the Peshawar attack, he said that investigation on this is underway and that a startling disclosure would be made in due time.

Pakistan had no role in harbouring Osama: ISPR spokesman

Commenting on an interview of former director general of Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Lt-Gen (retd) Asad Durrani to Al Jazeera where he said that Pakistan had 'most likely' revealed the position of former Al Qaeda chief Osama Bin Laden to the US, Bajwa said it had been proven beyond doubt that Pakistan had no role in harbouring the Al Qaeda chief.

Take a look: Pakistan may have shared OBL's location with US: Former ISI chief