PRIME Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday vowed to inflict a crushing defeat on terrorists, pledging that perpetrators would never dare cast an evil eye on Pakistan again.
Chairing a high-level meeting on the country’s security situation in Islamabad, he emphasized that the government’s counter-terrorism campaign would persist until the complete eradication of extremist elements.
The PM assured provincial governments of federal support to enhance their counter-terrorism capabilities, expressing satisfaction that all provinces were collaborating effectively on developing a unified counter-terrorism narrative.
The resolve expressed by the Prime Minister to wipe out the menace of terrorism at all costs is not rhetoric as a multi-pronged strategy is in place to move towards the cherished goal of making Pakistan’s future safe and secure.
There is no doubt that some terrorist outfits backed by some foreign powers are posing a renewed threat to the peace of the nation but it is also satisfying that our defence forces and law-enforcing agencies have a demonstrated capability to frustrate designs of both internal and external enemies of the country.
The continued focus of the government on inflicting crushing defeat on terrorists is evident from concerted meetings of the relevant officials and leadership from district to national levels where progress is reviewed and measured and prompt decisions taken to remove hurdles.
This focus is quite understandable as the government is implementing an ambitious economic and developmental agenda and positive results of its policies have started appearing in the lives of the people and the overall economic landscape of the country.
The economy is now out of the default syndrome and moving towards the stated goal of stability.
It is because of the prudent policies of the incumbent government that the shattered confidence of the investors has been restored, who are now expressing their keen interest to undertake ventures in different sectors.
Enemies of Pakistan have, therefore, joined hands in a bid to deny its people the benefits of peace, security, progress and development.
However, despite numerous difficulties and constraints, our law-enforcing agencies are successfully thwarting conspiracies of the enemy with the full backing of the nation.
It is for the first time that apart from the physical operations, special attention is being paid to address the root causes of terrorism and extremism through a coordinated approach of the federal and provincial governments.
Illegal immigrants are one of the factors of instability and insecurity and with this in view a campaign is underway to deport all foreign nationals living illegally in Pakistan.
Despite adverse propaganda by vested interests, the government has not abandoned its resolve to repatriate Afghan nationals and about eighty five thousand of them have been sent back to their country since the start of April.
The government has also warned strict action against anyone providing housing, jobs, or other services to undocumented foreigners, which shows commitment of the authorities concerned to accomplish the task at all costs.
Similarly, the issue of weapons left by the United States in Afghanistan is also being taken up with Washington as well as Kabul as it is widely used in terrorist activities against Pakistan.
A BBC report reveals that in 2021, Taliban gained control of approximately one million weapons and pieces of sophisticated US military equipment (estimated at $85 billion) and at least half a million items of this equipment are now unaccounted for.
A UN report released in February stated that Al-Qaeda affiliates, including Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, the East Turkestan Islamic Movement and Yemen’s Ansarullah Movement, are gaining access to Taliban-captured weapons either directly or through the thriving black market.
This phenomenon complicates Pakistan’s counter-terrorism efforts and needs to be addressed through effective coordination of the international community.
