Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday reaffirmed the resolve to eradicate the scourge of terrorism from the country.
Chairing a review meeting of the Steering Committee on Counter-Terrorism and Establishment of the State Writ (Harden the State), he stressed the state of Pakistan is determined to root out the scourge of terrorism. “The world recognizes our successful operations against terrorists,” he added.
According to an official statement, the premier said the state of Pakistan has adopted a multi-pronged strategy in the war against terrorism. “Pakistan has made full and effective use of important elements such as ground operations, relevant legislation, meaningful public communication and discouragement of extremist thinking,” he added.
During the meeting, the committee directed effective coordination between the federal and provincial governments against terrorism and strict implementation of its recommendations in this regard. “The role of the brave sons of the armed forces in this war against terrorism is commendable and laudable,” he said. “The entire nation, including me, is proud of the officers and officials who laid down their lives for the country and their families who were imbued with the spirit of sacrifice,” he added.
“The entire Pakistani nation, the brave forces, law enforcement agencies, and intelligence agencies are united and focused in the war against terrorism,” he continued. “Pakistan’s brave forces fought the terrorists vigorously in Operation Raddul Fasaad and Zarbe Azb, and the world recognized Pakistan’s victory in the recent historic Markae Haq,” he said.
He also acknowledged the effective steps taken in the war against terrorism by provincial governments, the Intelligence Bureau, the Ministry of Interior, and the Counter-Terrorism Department, especially the Punjab Counter-Terrorism Department. “Pakistan is working on a comprehensive, effective and workable strategy to completely eliminate Fitna al-Hindustan and Fitna al-Khawarij and other such anti-social elements,” he said.
“With the joint strategy and cooperation of all the relevant institutions, effective operations were undertaken against smuggling, which made it possible to prevent the menace,” he said, adding the curbing of smuggling had also yielded a positive impact on the economy.
“Only a peaceful and strong state structure free from terrorism restores the confidence of investors at the international level,” he said. “The government has brought revolutionary changes such as digitization of all systems and improvement in the tax system to restore the confidence of the investors at the international level,” he explained.
“Record increase in the Pakistan Stock Exchange and improvement in global ratings indicate the stability of Pakistan’s economy, and this will restore the confidence of foreign investors,” he maintained. “The implementation of the repatriation program for Afghan nationals residing illegally in Pakistan in accordance with international laws is continuing effectively,” he said.
Reportedly, the meeting agreed to adopt a multi-pronged approach to eliminate terrorism and reviewed measures to implement the next phase of the National Action Plan.
Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar, Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir, National Security Adviser Lt. Gen. Muhammad Asim Malik, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar, Law Minister Azam Nazir Tarar, Economic Affairs Minister Ahad Khan Cheema, Adviser to the P.M. for Inter-Provincial Coordination Rana Sanaullah, Minister of State for Interior Talal Chaudhry, chief secretaries of all provinces, inspectors general and relevant government officials attended the meeting.