Terrorists to be dealt with an iron fist: PM Shehbaz Sharif

An announcement made late on Tuesday night by the military’s media wing claimed that the elite commandos of the army had ended a three-day hostage situation by killing 25 terrorists who had taken control of the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) police station in Bannu. According to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the militants’ attempt to flee the facility after their demand for a safe passage to Afghanistan was denied was thwarted by the soldiers from the Special Service Group (SSG).

It may be mentioned that the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) claimed to have cancelled the June cease-fire agreement with the federal government and instructed its militants to carry out terrorist strikes all throughout the nation in November. The number of terrorist attacks in K-P has increased since that time, and there have also been instances of “unprovoked cross-border shelling” by Afghan Taliban troops in the Chaman-Spin Boldak region and Afghan forces shooting rockets into Pakistani territory from across the Chaman border.In a statement today, PM Shehbaz hailed the “ample response” of the armed forces saying that the nation “will defeat terrorism by supporting its forces”.

The prime minister vowed to deal with “attempts to promote disorder in Pakistan through terrorism with an iron hand” and made it clear that the government will not submit to any terrorist organisation.

Further, he made a special point to acknowledge those who have sacrificed their lives for the cause, especially the martyrs and the outstanding efforts of the police, rangers, and other law enforcement organisations. The statement said, “Operations Zarb-e-Azb and Radd-ul-Fasaad were significant steps to eliminating terrorism in the country.” The federal government would “address the external facilitation of terrorists who disseminate and support it in Pakistan,” according to PM Shehbaz. He emphasised the necessity for “collective thought and an action plan” to cope with the coming national security challenge while acknowledging the sensitivity of the situation.

‘Provinces responsible for law and order’ The premier stressed that the National Action Plan will be completely executed to put an end to terrorism in the nation while assuring the federating units of support from the federal government. Shehbaz highlighted that the centre will help to enhance the professional competence of counter-terrorism agencies in all provinces, arguing that boosting the capacity and effectiveness of provincial governments is essential to the eradication of terrorism

He declared that the federal government will cooperate with the K-P government in conjunction to restructure its CTD and provided all facilities, including contemporary weapons, to support the department. The chairman of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Imran Khan, has criticised the government for “failure to deal with a rise in terrorism” and it is crucial to note this at this point. The former prime minister, citing recent terrorist attacks in K-P, claimed in a series of tweets that the “imported” government had failed to contain a “50 percent increase” in terrorism. He also claimed that the government had failed to deal with attacks by “security forces of a ‘friendly’ Afghan government” coming from the international Pak-Afghan border.