The Senate on Wednesday unanimously condemned Wednesday's 'barbaric killing' of top police official in Peshawar, seeking urgent practical measures to eradicate the menace of terrorism, especially the fresh spate of target killings in Karachi and KP before it is too late.
Haji Muhammad Adeel of ANP said that the death of Frontier Constabulary (FC) Commandant Sifwat Ghayoor in a suicide bomb blast was a source of immense grief for the countrymen. The killing of bravest and undaunted soldier is irreparable loss for the whole country and NWFP in particular.
He said that the meritorious services of the late official will be long remembered and his flawless career is an example to all of his successors. 'This is the time to find a way out that how to get rid of these terrorists as nobody is safe in this country until they (terrorists) are crushed," he maintained.
Paying rich tribute to the late police officer for his gallantry, Haji Ghulam Ali of JUI-F warned the government to take concrete measures to wipe out the scourge of terrorism from the soil instead of offering 'fateha and condemnation.' Closing the whole chapter by mere condemnations and just offering fateha, he added, for the martyrs who sacrifice their precious lives for the country, would be unfair with their souls.
Terming the killing of the top police official in front of his office as a complete security failure, opposition leader Wasim Sajjad called for strengthening police and civilian intelligence agencies. "If a top police official can be assassinated in such a manner by the terrorists, what to talk of a common man," he added.
Colonel Tahir Mashahdi (Retd) of MQM said that growing militancy has spotlighted the inability of the country's security forces to fight domestic insurgency. Extremist groups from Khyber to Karachi, he added, are working together and suicide bombings frequently rock major cities like Lahore, Karachi and Islamabad.
He demanded the government to launch a countrywide crackdown against the militants. "Enough is enough and the criminals must be dealt as criminals or it will be too late," he warned. Talha Mehmood of JUI-F called for reviewing the foreign policy, which he said damaging national interests. He said it was the high time for the sitting government to reconsider its foreign policy.
Senator Ishaq Dar of PML-N said National Counter Terrorism Authority (NCTA), the first civilian institution to handle the threats of terrorism in the country must be made operational. Leader of the house Syed Nayyar Hussain Bukhari said that PPP-led government stringently believes in eliminating terrorism from the country.
He said the discontinuity in political system and dictatorships had ruined the social and political fabric of the nation. Bukhari said that all the political parties should be united to wipe out the menace of terrorism and their ultimate goal should be the stability of Pakistan instead of completing the five-year-term in the office.