Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Wednesday said in the National Assembly that the nation remains united in the war against terrorism and this would help root out terrorism from the country. Giving a policy statement in the Lower House following the Quetta carnage, he said terrorists cannot shake the resolve of nation by their cowardly acts and they would be defeated at any cost. "The enemy cannot digest the CPEC project and our unity will be a befitting response to our detractors," he said, adding that Pakistan's military and political leadership are on the same page to eradicate the menace of terrorism.
The Prime Minister also vowed to move forward with full strength and completely eliminate terrorism from the country and this war will be taken to its logical conclusion at all costs. He also lauded the efforts of intelligence agencies in curbing militancy from the country, saying that they have foiled hundreds of nefarious designs of the enemy through their hard work. The mindset behind the Quetta attack was the same one that had targeted Pakistanis in numerous terrorist attacks in the past including Army Public School in Peshawar, Charsadda and law enforcement personnel, he said.
He said there is need to defeat this mindset with the unity of all political parties and the whole nation. "This incident (Quetta attack) was properly planned," he said, adding that "such a mindset does not want peace in the country, especially in Balochistan." The prime minister also said that the Operation Zarb-i-Azb is a unanimous national agenda that will be completed to restore peace in the country.
The Prime Minister said Pakistan has raised voice against the Indian atrocities against innocent people in the Jammu Kashmir at the international forums and through an awareness campaign. The security forces are safeguarding the territorial boundaries of the country in the best way and are also showing excellent performance for maintaining law and order in the country, he said.
He said the Operation Zarb-e-Azb and the National Action Plan were launched with the consensus of the political and military leadership, and will be taken to the logical conclusion. After the premier's address, Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan informed the house about a high-level meeting that took place under chairmanship of the prime minister to thrash out policies and strategies to deal with the militants following the Quetta incident.
The minister said that a meeting of chief ministers of all provinces has also been convened to take their input, while the high-level meeting of civilian and military leadership is still ongoing. "The proactive actions in the last two and half years have helped improve law and order in the country," he said.
He said that around 2,000 terror incidents took place in year 2009-10 while they have now reduced to only 477 incidents. "We will bring down these incidents to zero in the next few months with our unity," he said while lauding role of security agencies in curbing the terrorism. Alluding to Pukhtoonkhwa Milli Awami party Chief Mehmood Khan Achakzai, he said that "such words and remarks for the intelligence agencies and armed forces are condemnable."
He said that such statements demoralise the law enforcement agencies while the house appreciates their sacrifices and efforts to eliminate terrorism. On Tuesday, Achakzai said in the house the prime minister should sack officers from the security and intelligence agencies if they fail to trace out elements involved in the deadly Quetta attack. "Instead of criticising Pakistani security agencies, RAW and NDS should be condemned," he said.
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