Top security huddle: Army pledges to carry forward anti-terror gains

Forum believed to have analysed Ashraf Ghani’s peace overture to Taliban

ISLAMABAD: NSATop military commanders on Tuesday pledged to carry forward the gains in the anti-terror fight in order to achieve enduring peace and stability in the country.

The corps commanders’ conference presided over by Army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa discussed the internal and external security environment and progress of ongoing operations including Khushal Balochistan programme.

“[The] forum pledged to carry forward the achieved successes to enduring peace and stability in the country,” said a statement issued by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR).

Although the ISPR would not provide further details, sources said the top brass also discussed recent regional developments, including the new peace initiative unveiled by Afghan President Ashraf Ghani.

The plan announced by Ghani during an international conference envisaged unconditional talks with the Afghan Taliban. The Afghan president also offered insurgents to open a political office for peace talks.



Separately, National Security Adviser Lt-Gen (retd) Nasser Khan Janjua termed President Ghani’s peace plan as a step forward towards political reconciliation in Afghanistan.

He made the statement while interacting with a group of visiting American journalists.

The NSA highlighted, in detail, different intriguing dimensions of the Afghan conflict and said that no love stories are born out of use of force.

“Military strategy always on the lead has injured the Afghan society which has made the war so perpetual with no end in sight,” Janjua said.

“We all need to invest in peace instead of war.”

“We want to work with US and Afghanistan in a cooperative framework. Let’s, collectively invest in peace and bring the closure to this perpetual conflict instead of wining it," he added.

In response to a question, he appreciated President Ghani's offer to the Taliban as a positive step forward towards the political reconciliation in Afghanistan.

“This is what we were insisting for since so long.”

The NSA, subsequently, gave them a detailed presentation on the regional security situation with particular reference to Pakistan focussing on how Pakistan, its people, armed forces, law-enforcement agencies and intelligence agencies performed brilliantly and resiliently after 1979 and 9/11.

The security advisor highlighted the character and role of Pakistan in the recent history and the sacrifices rendered by Pakistan in the ongoing war against terrorism.



He reiterated that Pakistan was a morally correct country and had always stood on the right side of history and along with the world to contribute for peace, stability and prosperity.

The delegates sought the adviser's opinion on different regional and international security issues.

Questions were asked about the Pak-US relations, particularly in the context of Afghanistan and also the response of Pakistan to the recent steps by the US pressurising Pakistan into doing more and also about the future prospects of the Pakistan-US ties. Questions were also asked about Pakistan’s relations with Afghanistan, China and Russia.

Janjua said Pakistan is committed to have friendly and cooperative relations with all the regional countries.

He also sensitised the delegates over the regional security environment and stressed that the US and the west should play a positive role in maintaining security of the region which, over a period, has become quite fragile.