AS vested interests are working overtime to undermine efforts to stabilize the country, Director General Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif, on Monday, made a strong case on the need to wipe out terrorism and put an end to the false propaganda against national institutions. He dwelt on the subject comprehensively during his news conference and responded to ticklish questions patiently and convincingly.
There can be no two opinions that a national narrative was a must to take the ongoing counter-terrorism campaign to its logical conclusion as the country cannot attain its goals vis-à-vis progress and prosperity without peace, security and stability. It is also a ground reality that concerted efforts and sacrifices of the Pakistan Army has brought the country back from the brink of a virtual disaster as terrorists and militants had gained enough strength to control entire regions and challenge the writ of the State. The Pakistan Army has no institutional interests in launching a series of operations to root out terrorism and create a congenial environment for progress and development but regrettably some circles try to indulge in a false narrative, which is nothing but an attempt to provide shield to those who are playing with the lives of the people, their properties, targeting personnel of law-enforcing agencies and trying to subvert strategies aimed at fostering growth and attracting investment. Propaganda against ‘Azm-e-Istehkam’ is a classic example of shielding, knowingly or unknowingly, terrorists and scuttling policies and plans to put the country on the right path. General Sharif rightly pointed out that ‘Azm-e-Istehkam’ was not a military operation requiring displacement of people, rather it was meant to fulfill the aims and objectives of the National Action Plan (NAP) which was revised in 2021. He said a very strong illegal and political lobby wanted that the aims and objectives of Azm-e-Istehkam, which were also the aims and objectives of the revised NAP, should not be fulfilled. Resurgence of terrorism is not a propaganda as people of Pakistan hear frequent reports about terrorist attacks against different targets, especially in KP and Balochistan besides Chinese nationals working on developmental projects. Isn’t it the responsibility of the State to protect innocent people and their properties? Should those sponsoring and carrying out attacks on engineers engaged in developmental pursuits in Pakistan be honoured? It is a sad story that the Government and national institutions are criticized when terrorists succeed in implementing their nefarious designs and are also opposed when steps are envisioned to improve security. The revised NAP not only addressed the issue of terrorism but also improved the economy and strengthened the state by curbing smuggling of goods on the Western borders. The revised NAP is, therefore, opposed by the beneficiaries of these illegal economic and commercial activities and that is why they favour free-for-all movement of goods and personnel on the borders. We have also been emphasizing in these columns time and again that as far as the Pakistan Army is concerned, it succeeded in its policy of ‘clear, hold and transfer’ but unfortunately the civilian setup was not fully prepared or geared to consolidate the gains so made through a combination of political, legal and economic measures. It is the responsibility of the provincial governments to boost capabilities of law-enforcing agencies, particularly Police, for which the Pakistan Army was more than willing to offer training and technical support. However, they failed to invest in law enforcement and as a result could not deal effectively with the threat of resurging terrorist activities. The DG, ISPR has also pointed out that since the start of year 2024, the army, police and other law-enforcement agencies carried out 12,409 small and big intelligence based operations (IBOs) against terrorists and their facilitators but legal and judicial processes against arrested criminals was wanting. Similarly, the NAP also talked about regularization and registration of seminaries but only a bit over 16,000 were done and the status of 50 percent was unknown. There is, therefore, a need for effective coordination and active involvement of the provinces in implementation of the NAP.
