Islamabad: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Wednesday said Pakistan’s intelligence agencies are working day and night to defeat the country’s enemies. The statement comes two days after the country’s restive Balochistan was hit by a major terror attack in which more than 70 people were killed.
Addressing the National Assembly after the carnage at Quetta Civil Hospital, Sharif said Pakistan’s military and political leadership are on the same page to eradicate the menace of terrorism.
He said the mindset behind the Quetta attack was the same one that had targeted Pakistanis in numerous terrorist attacks in the past.
“This incident [Quetta attack] was properly planned,” he said, adding that “such a mindset does not want peace in the country, especially in Balochistan”.
“We will put to rest all these challenges.”
Sharif went on to say that Operation Zarb-e-Azb is a unanimous national agenda that will be completed at all costs.
He added the terrorists cannot shake the resolve of the nation, and the government shall not be at peace until the terrorists meet their fate. “Anti-Pakistan elements did not like peace being established in Balochistan,” Sharif said, adding that the nation shall have to remain united while battling terrorism.
“The people of Pakistan, the government, the armed forces and police, all are united in the battle against terrorism,” said the Prime Minister.
Calling Monday’s terrorist attack in Quetta a national tragedy, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf’s (PTI’s) Parliamentary Leader Shah Mahmood Qureshi lamented that the world was not accepting of Pakistan’s stance despite so many sacrifices.
Speaking at National Assembly on Wednesday, Qureshi said that condemnations alone were not enough because it was not the first attack of this magnitude. He regretted that National Action Plan (NAP) was not being implemented in letter and spirit; it didn’t seem to be the government’s priority.
Qureshi’s speech was blacked-out by the state-run Pakistan Television (PTV) and resumed the coverage when Federal Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan took the podium.
Earlier in the day, a high level security meeting was held at the Prime Minister’s House where the National Action Plan was discussed at length. The meeting was presided by Sharif.
The army chief, General Raheel Shareef, Director General Inter-Services Intelligence Lt. General Rizwan Akhtar, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar and Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan attended the meeting.
Bearing down tough on people who passed statements against agencies in the wake of the Quetta bombing, Ali Khan said the dissenting political leaders should have raised their voice against RAW and NDS, spy agencies of India and Afghanistan respectively.
Addressing the National Assembly, the minister said terrorists knew that lawyers were going to assemble at Civil Hospital, adding he vowed that the government is determined to push this war to its logical end.
He told the house that a crucial meeting, presided over by Sharif, continued for hours to discuss the law-and-order situation in the country and another meeting will be held tomorrow.
The minister highlighted the current situation of peace in the country and compared it with the past.
Ali Khan said that there was not a single day in the past when not a single suicide blast struck the country. He added that Pakistan has suffered as a result of terrorism even more than Iraq or Afghanistan have.
He said the General Headquarters (GHQ) was attacked in the past, adding that even airports and airbases were not secure. Ali Khan said that the government aimed to hold talks with the terrorists as it was considered the best option at that time, adding the idea of negotiating with the terrorists failed as the terrorists kept attacking public places.
The interior minister said that the decision to initiate an operation against the terrorist was made three months after holding a series of talks with them. He said that military leaders took part in meetings related to national security in order to give the message that civil-military leadership was on the same page when it comes to the country’s security.
Ali Khan said that the operation against the terrorists could not have been a success without the cooperation of the public. He said that unity was required in order to minimise the activities of the terrorists.
“Those who are battling against terrorism are our heroes,” said Ali Khan in the National Assembly. He added that he was saddened by the speeches made in the parliament yesterday (on Tuesday). He said the terrorists should know that the nation is united.
Ali Khan said evidence regarding the Quetta blast had been obtained, adding that the attack was well-planned and coordinated. He said implementing the National Action Plan (NAP) was everyone’s responsibility.
Ali Khan said that Pakistan’s improving security situation was being acknowledged globally.
