We will fight terror together, says PM Nawaz

Gen Raheel says terrorism funded externally, facilitated internally

ISLAMABAD:

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has said the government and the entire nation is standing behind Pakistan’s armed forces and intelligence agencies to stamp out terrorism from the country.

“We will collectively defeat all designs of our enemies and make Pakistan a secure and prosperous country,” the premier said on Thursday during a high-level meeting at the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) headquarters.



According to a statement issued by the military’s media wing, PM Nawaz appreciated the efforts and achievements of the army and intelligence agencies for bringing a noticeable change in the security environment. He also paid tributes to the officers martyred in the line of duty.

The civil-military leadership met at the intelligence headquarters on Thursday and voiced serious concerns over ‘hostile intelligence agencies’ stirring unrest in the country, said the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR).



Army chief Gen Raheel Sharif, ISI Director-General Lt Gen Rizwan Akhtar, Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar and National Security Adviser Lt Gen (retd) Nasser Khan Janjua also attended the huddle.

The participants reviewed the progress made under the National Action Plan against terrorism, formulated after the Peshawar school tragedy.



During the briefing, the army chief maintained that terrorists were externally funded but internally facilitated.

He stressed the need for continued efforts across the country in consolidating gains made in Operation Zarb-e-Azb to ensure permanent peace.

The meeting reviewed the entire internal and external threat spectrum in the country including terrorist networks and their links. “The role of hostile intelligence agencies and their collaborators in fomenting instability in Pakistan and undermining Pakistan’s interests was discussed in detail,” the ISPR said.

‘Hostile agencies’ usually refers to the Indian premier intelligence unit RAW (the Research and Analysis Wing). Pakistan maintains RAW is involved in destabilising Balochistan as well as funding the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).



Recently, a senior TTP commander, Latifullah Mehsud, also claimed that RAW and elements in Afghan spy agency, the National Directorate of Security (NDS), were behind terrorist attacks in Pakistan. Latifullah was captured by the US military in October 2013 from an Afghan government convoy. He was believed to be in contact with Afghan intelligence agents. In December 2014, the US handed over the TTP commander to Pakistan. The participants also discussed the management affairs at Pak-Afghan border crossings as the Afghan Military Operations director general visited the General Headquarters to meet his Pakistani counterpart.



“The visit was sequel to the COAS’ visit of Kabul on December 15 during which regular bilateral interactions of Pakistan and Afghanistan military were decided,” the ISPR stated.

Both sides once again reiterated terrorists operating on either sides of the border will not be allowed to use their soils for any terrorist activity. They expressed the resolve to continue the interaction for better bilateral military to military coordination The Afghan intelligence chief was also in Islamabad and reportedly met his Pakistani counterpart in Islamabad to restore trust between the intelligence agencies. However, both the sides refused to confirm the visit or the meeting.

Global fight

Earlier, Gen Raheel Sharif called for a global response to meet the challenges posed by terrorism across the world while speaking at the conclusion of a trilateral counter-terrorism exercise codenamed Eagle Dash-1.

“Terrorism is a global phenomenon and terrorists have no country, religion or sect. Hence it requires a coordinated global response from us all,” the army chief said on Thursday, according to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR).



“Owing to the successes of Operation Zarb-e-Azb, a large number of friendly countries have requested Pakistan Army to train their troops in our state-of-the-art training centre,” stated an ISPR statement.

The army chief said Pakistan had been a victim of terrorism for over a decade now and sacrificed a lot in this time. But in the end, the country has turned the tide primarily due to the resilience shown by the whole nation and professionalism of the armed forces, he added.

“We are willing to share our experience with the world for the benefit of humanity and as an obligation towards International peace,” he maintained.

Soldiers of Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Maldives participated in the two-week-long exercise held at the National Counter-Terrorism Training Centre (NCTC) in Pabbi, focusing on anti-terror operations and sharing field combat experiences.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 5^th, 2016.