THE unanimous declaration adopted by the Parliamentary Committee on National Security and a bold and unambiguous message delivered by Army Chief General Syed Asim Munir vowing to eliminate once for all terrorist elements and their facilitators would surely go a long way in addressing the challenge in a comprehensive manner in line with the aspirations of the people of Pakistan.
The attempts made by the political opposition to undermine the significance of the moot notwithstanding, the unanimous declaration of the Committee mirrors national resolve to eradicate terrorism in all its forms and the need for a decisive action against elements threatening national stability.
Analysts rightly pointed out that the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), who briefed the session along with his team of experts, made a path-defining speech and based on their input, the civil-military huddle called for dismantling terror networks, logistical support systems and nexus between terrorism and crime.
There are reasons to believe that based on the fact and data based briefing of the COAS and other professionals, viewpoints of the political leaders, deliberations of the Committee and the decisions taken, the Government of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, which is rightly prioritizing progress and development, will hammer out a robust strategy with further input from all stakeholders to neutralize terrorists and their support base.
The commitment of the PM to go whole hog to eliminate the menace of terrorism is reflected in his remarks that 250 million people of Pakistan stand with the defenders of the nation, the armed forces, and law enforcement agencies, adding those who do not stand with the country, the nation, the armed forces and the martyrs and wounded are allies of terrorists.
The task to get rid of terrorism will receive a boost after categorical views expressed by prominent politico-religious leader and Chief of JUI(F) Maulana Fazlur Rehman, who not only attended the moot but also contributed substantially to its deliberations by declaring that anyone who takes up arms against the state is a terrorist, explaining a (victim) teacher is a martyr but a killer is not a mujahid.
He emphasized that political leadership and the nation must eliminate terrorism without falling into any dilemma.
It is also significant to note that the Maulana was skeptical of the absence of the PTI from the meeting of the Committee.
As before, PPP leadership also was firm and categorical as far as elimination of terrorism is concerned with Bilawal Bhutto Zardari assuring the party was fully prepared to support any efforts for the purpose.
More important were the elements of the speech of the Army Chief, which dropped hints about what is in store for terrorists and their facilitators as he relayed a firm message to the enemy by declaring to make Pakistan a hard state, questioning for how long the nation would continue to make innumerable sacrifices in the name of a soft state.
We have been repeatedly pointing out in these columns that the armed forces were playing their role well in securing the country from both internal and external enemies but their achievements in the war against terror could not be stabilized by the civilian set-up.
It is for the Government, especially provincial governments concerned, to effectively take control of and manage the areas cleared by Pakistan Army after relentless struggle against terrorists but they unfortunately could not do so for whatever reason.
And the Army Chief was apparently referring to this lacuna when he emphasized the need to fill the governance gaps.
He also underlined the importance of national unity by urging all elements of national power to work in harmony to make Pakistan a strong and resilient state, pointing out no agenda, movement or individual was greater than the security of the country.
Appreciably, the huddle decided to continue the process of consultations on the crucial issue of security and one hopes those who missed the train on Tuesday will review their posturing and join national efforts to counter a serious threat to the country.
