Shahbaz, Raheel hold talks at GHQ

Punjab chief minister discusses ongoing operation against sectarian, banned outfit in South Punjab

ISLAMABAD: Army chief General Raheel Sharif and Punjab Chief Minister Shahbhaz Sharif on Tuesday held a meeting at the General Headquarters in Rawalpindi to discuss the ongoing operation in Punjab against sectarian and militant outfits.

The meeting lasted about one and a half hour, said sources familiar with the closed-door talks. There was, however, no official confirmation either from the military or the Punjab government about the high-level meeting.

Pakistan launches much-awaited operation in South Punjab

Sources said the discussions focused on the ongoing operation in South Punjab against the sectarian and other proscribed organisations as part of the National Action Plan (NAP) to eradicate the menace of terrorism.

Shahbaz Sharif and Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan regularly interact with the army chief on some of the pressing issues related to fighting militancy in the province. This time, however, Shahbhaz met the army chief alone.

In April, an army-led coordinated operation that also included civil law enforcement agencies was launched against hardcore terrorists in South Punjab.

This was the first time that a coordinated operation was initiated in South Punjab, which has long been seen as home to some of the deadliest terrorist outfits.



The federal government and the military authorities remained at loggerheads over the requisition of paramilitary rangers to carry out operation in the province.

Both the government in the centre and the province insisted that the police and Counter Terrorism Department could tackle the problem.

Punjab government also claimed that there were no terrorist hideouts or no go areas in the province. However, the military leadership was adamant that all-out operation was critical in the province to destroy militant hideouts and sleeper cells.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 20^th, 2016.