ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Saturday announced to launch a major new operation against terrorism with a renewed commitment to eradicate militancy from the country.
The decision to launch Operation Azm-i-Istehkam (strong commitment) was taken at the apex committee of the National Action Plan (NAP), a 20-point multi-pronged strategy approved in 2014 after the Peshawar school attack to eliminate militants and extremism.
“Azm-i-Istehkam will integrate and synergise multiple lines of effort to combat the menaces of extremism and terrorism comprehensively and decisively,” the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said in a press release issued after the meeting.
The new anti-militancy campaign was launched with the consensus of all stakeholders, including the four provinces, Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir regions.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif chaired the meeting and it was attended by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar, chief ministers, the services chiefs, and chief secretaries of the provinces along with other senior civilian, military and law enforcement agency officers.
The PMO said the forum conducted a comprehensive review of the ongoing counter-terrorism campaign and assessed the country’s internal security situation.
“The forum reiterated that the fight against extremism and terrorism is Pakistan’s war and is absolutely essential for the nation’s survival and well-being. The forum resolved that no one will be allowed to challenge the writ of the state without any exception,” it added.
The progress on NAP’s multi-domain tenets was scrutinised, with particular emphasis on identifying shortcomings in its implementation for addressing them as top priority. The necessity for a comprehensive and reinvigorated counter-terrorism strategy, founded on “complete national consensus and system-wide synergy”, was underscored.
The PMO said in the politico-diplomatic domain, 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 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 added that the campaign would be duly complemented by socioeconomic measures aimed at addressing the genuine concerns of the people and creating an environment that discouraged extremist tendencies.
Furthermore, 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 were issued to relevant departments, which would enhance mechanisms for providing comprehensive security to Chinese citizens in Pakistan.
The decision to launch a new operation was taken when the country faced a new onslaught by the Tehreek-i-Taliban militants who, according to officials, are based in Afghanistan.
Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Saturday that fighting terrorism was a collective responsibility of all institutions, as the country battled a resurgent Taliban militancy.
Addressing the apex committee meeting of the National Action Plan (NAP), he said provinces should also play their role in combating insurgency in the country.
The apex committee is its highest body overseeing the implementation of measures to eradicate militancy from the country.
“The responsibility of the fighting against terrorism is the collective duty and the primary obligation of all state institutions. It’s not about you and me, it’s about us. We have to trample it together,” Sharif said.
The 20-point NAP agenda to eliminate terrorism was adopted by the government and approved by the opposition parties in the wake of the Peshawar school attack on December 16, 2014.
The prime minister said Pakistan has been facing terrorism for the last two-and-a-half decades and it has become complicated due to the involvement of crime, drugs, smuggling, extremism and religious terrorism.
The apex committee meeting was held as Pakistan faced an uptick in acts of terrorism in recent years. According to an annual security report issued by the Centre for Research and Security Studies, Pakistan witnessed 1,524 violence-related fatalities and 1,463 injuries from 789 terror attacks and counter-terror operations in 2023, marking a record six-year high.
The latest wave of terrorism is led by the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Taliban (TTP), which according to Pakistan officials, has sanctuaries in Afghanistan.
Sharif acknowledged that some provinces had made progress in tackling militancy, but “it is my belief that we have all too easily left this matter to our armed forces” and both the provinces and federal government have left it for the army.
“This is that dangerous practice that has become a custom in the past years that this is the army’s job and its officers have to do this,” he said.
Sharif said provinces were paying a price but the overall sense is that the army has to fight against terrorism. He said it would not eliminate terrorism from the country.
“We cannot even hope for strong stability without a complete system or a whole-of-the-government approach. This does not only refer to all agencies and ministries but the federal and provincial governments and all institutions,” he said.
Sharif asked the political and religious leadership to be clear that this battle was for Pakistan’s survival and “we are not fighting someone else’s battle”.
The premier also said that the rule of law and stability were important for growth and development in the country. “A soft state can never gain the trust of investors,” he said, adding that a strong and healthy economy could not be envisioned in an unstable state gripped by terrorism.
Earlier on June 22, Police in Pakistan’s Punjab province on Saturday claimed to have foiled a major terror plot with the arrest of 22 suspected terrorists of ISIS, TTP and other banned organisations.
According to a Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) spokesman, it conducted 152 intelligence-based operations in different districts of Punjab this week and arrested 22 suspected terrorists belonging to ISIS, Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) and Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ).
The spokesperson said the alleged terrorists have been arrested from areas like Lahore, Attock, Sheikhupura, Muzaffargarh, Nankana Sahib, Bahawalpur, DG Khan, Faisalabad, Multan, Bahawalnagar and Rawalpindi.
Explosives weighing 1,645 grams, three hand grenades, one IED bomb, 12 detonators, a safety fuse wire measuring 32 feet, a pistol and banned literature have allegedly been recovered from them.
“The arrested terrorists had planned to sabotage in Punjab and wanted to target important installations and personalities,” the spokesperson said.
He said the police have registered 19 cases against the terrorists and shifted them to an unknown location for interrogation.
