No woman or child ever taken into custody: Pak military

Islamabad: The Pakistani military on Saturday dismissed as baseless the Taliban`s allegations that women and children were in the custody of security forces, describing it as "propaganda" by the banned group.

The military`s media wing categorically rejected Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan`s allegations about women and children being in the custody of security forces. Chief military spokesman Maj Gen Asim Bajwa said not even a single woman or child is in custody of security forces. "In fact women and children have never been detained. This baseless accusation by TTP is a mere propaganda to divert the attention from real issue of their blatant and dastardly acts of terror across the country," he said in a statement. The Taliban had earlier claimed the military has detained women, children and senior citizens. They had demanded that such persons should be released as a confidence building measure ahead of a possible ceasefire. Bajwa`s comments came days after the government suspended a peace process with the Taliban after militants executed 23 troops. The military has carried out air strikes on Taliban hideouts in the northwest that have killed over 40 terrorists.