PM orders ‘joint investigation’ into Bisham atrocity

Top civil, military leadership vows to bring perpetrators to justice swiftly

ISLAMABAD:

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday instructed for a thorough joint investigation into the Bisham terrorist attack targeting Chinese nationals at the Dasu hydropower project, utilising all state resources.

Offering deepest condolences to the victims' families, he vowed swift justice for the perpetrators.

Chairing an emergency meeting following the attack, the prime minister praised the swift response of law enforcement and locals, which saved many lives.

The meeting was attended by the federal ministers, chief of the army staff, chief ministers, chief secretaries and inspector generals of police of respective provinces, a PM Office press release said.

The meeting discussed in detail the heinous attack on innocent civilians working on a development project, meant to contribute towards energy and water security of Pakistan.

The prime minister said, “Terrorism is a trans-national threat that has been instrumentalised by the enemies of Pakistan to stymie Pakistan’s progress and development. The acts targeting Pakistan-China friendship are particularly aimed at creating mistrust between the two iron brothers.”

The participants of the meeting expressed resolute commitment to completely rooting out terrorism from the country.

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The participants expressed serious concerns over sanctuaries available to terrorists across the borders and emphasised upon the need for a regional approach to counter terrorism.

During the meeting, the COAS reiterated the resolve of the armed forces to eliminate the scourge of terrorism afflicting the country.

The COAS stated that the nation had steadfastly fought the war on terror for the last two decades and had defeated the nefarious designs of Pakistan’s adversaries.

Noting the recent surge in terrorist incidents, the COAS remarked that the enemies of Pakistan had once again underestimated the resilience and grit of the state and the people of Pakistan.

He said, “We shall fight terrorism till every terrorist casting an evil eye on Pakistan, its people and their guests, is eliminated; we shall not leave any stone unturned to ensure that every foreign citizen, especially the Chinese nationals, contributing to the prosperity of Pakistan, is safe and secure in Pakistan. We shall fight terrorism with all our might, to the very end.”

The meeting concluded with the participants reiterating the resolve to comprehensively combat terrorism employing all resources available to the state.

Later, addressing a news conference, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said that the meeting had the consensus that an integrated strategy should be adopted to wipe out terrorism from this country.

Regarding the investigation of the incident, He disclosed that consultation was held on the establishment of a joint investigation team.

Tarar added that all possible steps will be taken for prevention of such incidents in the future. The minister said Pakistan had formulated a comprehensive Standard Operating Procedure (SOPs) for the security of Chinese citizens in the country. All the arrangements and steps were being taken to ensure security of all the Chinese working on CPEC and non-CPEC projects in the country.

The minister questioned the role of the PTI founder in promoting talks with terrorists and showing sympathy towards them. The minister asked why the apex committee meeting on national security was not convened by Imran Khan during his government’s tenure.

The minister said that the government would like to take up the issue of terrorism in the upcoming session of the National Assembly.