Islamabad: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif vowed Pakistan would defeat terrorism as the 180-million nuclear-armed nation celebrated its independence anniversary Wednesday against a backdrop of alarming surge in deadly attacks by terror outfits.
“The shadows of terrorism are haunting us today but with commitment and resolve we will overcome this scourge,” Sharif said while addressing the nation after a national flag hoisting ceremony.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon also attended the ceremony held at the Convention Centre instead of the traditional venue in front of the Parliament House because or heavy monsoon downpour in Islamabad.
Prime Minister Sharif, whose government took over reins June 5 after the general election, expressed the confidence that the nation, the army and the security agencies would jointly eliminate terrorism and make the county a hub of peace and security.
The new government is in the process of formulating a comprehensive national security policy to deal decisively with what is internally as well as externally viewed as the gravest threat to the survival of the country beset also by stagnant economy.
Pakistani army chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani called for consensus against terrorism in a speech at a parade Tuesday night on the independence day eve at the Kakul military academy in Abbottabad, the garrison town where Osma Bin Laden was killed in 2011 in a covert US special forces operation.
Gen Kayani said that Pakistan Armed Forces have given sacrifices to overcome terrorism and even today they are standing shoulder to shoulder with the nation.
The army chief said that this war could only be won when the entire nation would unite on one strategy, so that there would no confusion in the mind of the forces as well as the terrorist
The Chief of Army Staff sounded a note of caution, in an implicit reference to intended dialogue with militants. “We can have two on the strategy against terrorism, but surrendering before it is no solution,” he said.
Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, whom Sharif had tasked to bring about a consensus-based policy against terrorism, said a conference of political parties would be convened later this month for the purpose.
The minister told a news conference framework of an integrated national security police would be ready in two weeks and said the government plans to activate a National Counter-Terrorism Authority that remained inactive during the previous Pakistan People’s Party government.
It is also planned to set up a joint intelligence secretariat on modern lines where thousands of people will round-the-clock to sift and analyze intelligence reports so that forces take action without any delay, Nisar said.
The minister said a counter-terrorism rapid deployment force with 500 personnel initially and 2,000 ultimately would be raised and equipped with latest technology and helicopters with infrared night vision capability.
The “war against terror” had been imposed on the nation by a dictator, the minister said in apparent reference to former military ruler Pervez Musharraf. But, he said saving Pakistan from death and destruction had now become “our war.”
“We will leave it to the political parties to decide whether we should hold talks with militants, use force against them or adopt a mix of tact and might,” Nisar said, adding the government would not shy away from an “all-out war” against militants if a consensus for it was reached.
Ahead of the anniversary, the outlawed Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) reportedly issued a warning to the government not to carry death penalties awarded by courts to its members.
The warning came amid reports a first batch of terrorists on death row belonging to banned groups may be executed next week.
A prominent daily Wednesday quoted the interior minister as telling it that the government was determined to establish the writ of law.
“There is a backlog of 450 cases and we are processing them as fast as we can. We will continue the process to implement the execution orders so that the law may take its course,” the minister said.
