Shehbaz calls for unified effort to combat terrorism

F.P. Report

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday emphasised that the responsibility of combating terrorism lies with all federal and provincial governments, as well as institutions, underscoring the need for a collective and coordinated approach to eradicate this menace from the country.

“It is a joint responsibility of all of us to enforce the state’s accountability fully and without exception,” the prime minister said while addressing a meeting of the Apex Committee of the National Action Plan. The meeting was attended by the chief ministers of all the provinces, federal ministers and senior military officers.

He said terrorism had plagued Pakistan in various ways for two and a half decades. The problem of terrorism in Pakistan, he said was very complex and there was a deadly relationship between terrorism and crime, drugs, trafficking, extremism and religious hatred. He emphasised that stability and rule of law were essential for sustainable development in Pakistan.

“A soft state can never win the confidence of the investors, and a healthy and strong economy cannot be imagined in a country plagued by instability and terrorism,” he added. The prime minister said all the institutions and provincial governments were relying solely on the Pakistan Armed Forces to fight against terrorism absolving themselves of any such responsibility. He said it was a dangerous trend that had been developed in the last few years which would not help completely uprooting the menace of terrorism from the country.

“Pakistan’s Armed Forces have been shedding their blood for decades, offering unmatched and countless sacrifices,” he said adding a sustainable stability could not be ensured without a complete system and a whole of the government. He stressed that all the law enforcement agencies, ministries, federal and provincial governments and all the institutions should jointly work to eliminate the menace of terrorism.

After the 18th amendment in the constitution, the prime minister pointed out that the provincial governments had a big role in this regard as they now receive all the required resources in this regard. We need harmony among all the stakeholders including the political and religious leaderships to put the country on the path of peace and prosperity, the prime minister added.

For the war against terrorism, he said, “the political and religious leadership should be clear in their mind that this was our war to safeguard the future of our generations”. “Irrespective of all differences, we should take this responsibility and support our armed forces in this regard,” he said adding “putting the responsibility upon solely a single institution will be a blatant mistake”.

Besides, he stressed that active diplomacy would also be required to take action against the terrorist elements outside Pakistan. The prime minister also emphasised the need for legislative action to empower law enforcement agencies, identifying the existing legal gaps as a major obstacle to effective counter-terrorism operations. He also assured the Pakistan Army and the Ministry of Interior to provide all possible resources and tools to support the war against terrorism.

PM Shehbaz dismissed the ongoing campaign against Pak-China relations as a baseless and malicious social media-driven dirty campaign designed to destabilise the country. He said the Chinese leadership had countered this campaign through their statements which showed how they gave importance to their relationship with Pakistan.

PM okays Operation Azm-i-Istehkam

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday approved a reinvigorated and re-energized national counter-terrorism campaign through launching of Operation ‘Azm-e-Istehkam’ with consensus of all stakeholders including provinces, Gilgit Baltistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir, symbolizing the national resolve to eradicate extremism and terrorism from the country.

The prime minister chaired a meeting of Central Apex Committee on National Action Plan. “Azm-e-Istehkam will integrate and synergize multiple lines of effort to combat the menaces of extremism and terrorism in a comprehensive and decisive manner,” said in a press release issued by the PM Office Media Wing.

The meeting was attended by key ministers of the federal cabinet including the Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar, Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif, Interior Minister Syed Mohsin Naqvi, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar and Information Minister Attaullah Tarar. Additionally, the chief ministers of all provinces and Gilgit-Baltistan, Services Chiefs and chief secretaries of the provinces along with other senior civilian, military and Law Enforcement Agencies officers were present. The forum conducted a comprehensive review of the ongoing counter-terrorism campaign and assessed the internal security situation.

“The forum reiterated that the fight against extremism and terrorism was Pakistan’s war and was absolutely essential for the nation’s survival and well-being. The forum resolved that no one would be allowed to challenge the writ of the state without any exception,” it was added. The progress on the multi-domain tenets of the National Action Plan was scrutinized, with particular emphasis on identifying shortcomings in the implementation for addressing the same on top priority. The necessity for a comprehensive and reinvigorated counter-terrorism strategy, founded on complete national consensus and system-wide synergy, was underscored.

In the politico-diplomatic domain, the forum resolved that efforts would be intensified to curtail the operational space for terrorists through regional cooperation. The renewed and full blown kinetic efforts of the armed forces would be augmented by full support from all the law enforcement agencies, empowered by effective legislation to address legal voids that hindered the effective prosecution of terrorism-related cases and award of exemplary punishments to them, the press release said. It said that the campaign would be duly complemented by socioeconomic measures aimed at addressing genuine concerns of the people and creating an environment that discouraged extremist tendencies.

The information space would be leveraged to promote a unified national narrative in support of the campaign. The forum also reviewed measures to ensure foolproof security for Chinese nationals in Pakistan. Following the prime minister’s approval, new standard operating procedures (SOPs) were issued to relevant departments, which would enhance mechanisms for providing comprehensive security to Chinese citizens in Pakistan.