PM Shehbaz Sharif to renew the pledge to crush terrorism menace

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif pledged on Monday to exterminate militants throughout the nation amid criticism from his predecessor Imran Khan, who grilled the government over a sharp rise in militancy during its eight-month tenure. The pledge came as the country is still reeling from numerous terrorist attacks that the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has claimed responsibility for over the past few days.

PM Shehbaz said that the government will eradicate terrorism in all of its forms with the aid of provincial governments and security forces while speaking to a crowd in Dera Ismail Khan. The National Security Committee (NSC) would be called to a meeting in a few days to assess the security situation, he added.

The state would smash the threat of terrorism, the premier declared, even though it was on the rise.

In a comment on an attack on a security compound in Bannu last week, PM Shehbaz said the Bannu incident was heart-breaking and added that the law enforcement agencies conducted a successful operation, killing all terrorists who had taken over the compound.

“We offer our condolences; the officers and personnel who were martyred in this incident are our heroes, their sacrifices will always be remembered,” he added.

‘Failure to rein in terror’ Meanwhile, former prime minister Imran Khan, who wants snap polls in the country at all costs and is likely to dissolve Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa assemblies, lambasted the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) government for its “failure” to rein in terrorism after coming to power in April this year.

During a PTI meeting at Zaman Park, his residence in Lahore, Mr Khan claimed that his government had “controlled terrorism and was proudly leading the country towards making it one of the world’s top tourism destinations”. The PTI chairman appeared concerned over the situation at the Pak-Afghan border as well. He claimed that there was a 52 per cent increase in terror incidents since April and chided the government for the resurgence of terrorism.

“At least 52 per cent increase has been recorded in terrorism cases across the country that claimed some 270 precious lives and left over 550 people injured,” the former premier claimed. Separately, PTI leader Fawad Chaudhry told reporters that terrorism was returning to Pakistan.

In our stint in the federal government, he said, the PTI was proudly projecting Pakistan as the world’s top tourist destination and major news channels like CNN and magazines were referring to this South Asian country as a world’s top tourist destination.

He claimed that in 2017, the CPEC’s western route to Zhob plan was finished. However, he said that the previous PTI administration had put a stop to this “vital endeavour,” accusing it of wrecking the country’s economy.

The idea put up by Maulana Fazlur Rehman to build an industrial area close to the new airport was also well received by the premier. He noted that the provincial ministries and other interested parties would be consulted as well as the ministry of industry and production.