Zero tolerance policy for terrorists, says PM Shehbaz

Premier announces economic roadmap to revive economy and provide relief to populace

ISLAMABAD:

Following an uptick in terror activities across the country, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday announced that Pakistan will adopt a "zero tolerance policy" for terrorists challenging its writ.

The decision came after a meeting of the National Security Council (NSC) yesterday, which according to the premier took “major decisions” after hours of deliberations.

NSC took some major decisions yesterday after hours-long deliberations. Two of them stand out: State of Pakistan will adopt zero tolerance policy for terrorists challenging its writ. Peace is non-negotiable. Two, economic roadmap will revive economy & provide relief to the people

— Shehbaz Sharif (@CMShehbaz) January 3, 2023

“Peace is non-negotiable,” PM Shehbaz wrote on his official Twitter handle.

The prime minister’s statement came a day after the Taliban regime in Kabul angrily reacted to a statement of Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah, wherein the minister had said that Pakistan could carry out cross-border military action against the outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) which has been using its safe havens in Afghanistan as a springboard for its new terror campaign.

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The Afghan Ministry of National Defense said it considered Sanaullah’s claim about the presence of TTP in Afghanistan and his threat of possible attack inside Afghanistan as “provocative and baseless”.

‘Economic roadmap’

Shehbaz further stated that an economic roadmap would be established to help revive the economy and “provide relief to the people”.

A day earlier, PM Shehbaz presided over the crucial NSC huddle where attendees included relevant federal cabinet members, the chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, all services chiefs, and heads of intelligence services. Significantly, it was the second meeting of the NSC in less than a week.

The NSC, which convened amid a spurt in terrorist violence, was expected to primarily cobble up a new strategy or tweak the existing one to deal with the new security challenge.

However, the fact that the forum discussed the country’s economic situation, which it normally does not do, shows that the growing economic fragility, triggered by political volatility, has started weighing down on the powers that be.