ISLAMABAD, Pakistan: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has said that there is a dire need to expand the military operation Zarb-e-Azb to the entire country against those elements who want to destabilize Pakistan.
“Zarb-e-Azb operation is successfully going on in North Waziristan,” the prime minister said while addressing a meeting of the parliamentary leaders held in Islamabad on Wednesday to finalise a national action plan to counter terrorism and extremism.
The meeting was attended by among others by the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Raheel Sharif and opposition leader in the National Assembly Syed Khursheed Shah, opposition leader in Senate Aitzaz Ahsan, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) Chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman, Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) leader Farooq Sattar, Awami National Party (ANP) leader Ghulam Ahmed Bilour, Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) leader Mushahid Hussain Syed and Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) leader Sirajul Haq.
In his address to the participants, the prime minister urged the political leadership to take strong and decisive decisions to purge the country of terrorism.
Sharif said that the country is passing through extraordinary situation which requires extraordinary steps. He said the history and the nation will not forgive us if we failed to rid the country of this menace.
The premier said that the gruesome incident of Peshawar has united the entire nation and it is now looking towards the political leaders to take the right decisions.
Nawaz Sharif said that all the political parties should demonstrate unity and discuss the concerns if they have any on any issue.
“We are ready to address the concerns pertaining to the imminent legislation,” he said.
Nisar briefs parliamentary parties meeting
The federal interior minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, who heads the national action plan committee, said while briefing the parliamentary parties meeting that the participants of the action plan committee agreed to raise a force of 5,000 personnel to counter terrorism.
The interior minister said that the army would prepare and train this force which will be deployed 1,000 each in federal capital and the four provinces.
Nisar said that there was a consensus among the committee members that effective coordination among the civil-military leadership was imperative to eliminate the scourge of terrorism from the country.
The minister said that the committee emphasized proactive efforts to check financial support to terrorists, and their communication networks. He said that the members also underlined the need to update the Red Book of the most wanted suspects regularly.
Chaudhry Nisar said that the committee called for ensuring that the banned organizations do not reemerge with different names.
In addition, he said that there was a demand by the members of the committee to immediately ban the material on internet that glorifies terrorists and their activities.
The interior minister said that glorification of terrorists on media will be totally banned and if a law required for it, could be made.
