Plans are in the works for a military operation to ferret out terrorists.
Although the nation grapples with economic and political challenges, the National Security Council endorses the decision.
ISLAMABAD: On Friday, the National Security Committee (NSC) resolved to begin a thorough operation against terrorists as the civil and military leadership of the nation essentially filed a charge-sheet against the previous administration and the establishment for enabling the TTP to reorganize.
The high-level meeting, which was presided over by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and attended by senior cabinet ministers, services heads, and intelligence officials, took place against the backdrop of several events on both the political and security fronts.
There were rumors that the NSC may support the government’s decision to disregard the Supreme Court’s order over the election in Punjab, so all eyes were focused on the nation’s highest forum for national security.
The NSC acknowledged the worsening in the security situation that called for a new comprehensive operation, but making no clear reference of the country’s present political turmoil.
The action might support the government’s argument that elections in Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa are now impossible.
The NSC meeting’s decision to begin a full-scale, all-encompassing offensive against terrorist organizations was its high point. Pakistan was about to start a new counterterrorism operation for the first time since 2016.
The conference decided to undertake “an all-out comprehensive operation with the whole nation and the government, which would rid the country of the threat of terrorism with renewed energy and resolve,” according to a statement released by the PM office after a more than four-hour meeting.
“This comprehensive, all-encompassing operation will make efforts at the political, diplomatic, security, economic, and social levels in an endeavor to eradicate the scourge of terrorism from Pakistan in all of its manifestations. In this respect, a high-level group has also been established, and it will provide suggestions for its implementation in two weeks, according to the statement.
According to sources, the most recent military attack will target everyone and target those groups that utilize social and other media platforms to harm Pakistan’s interests, unlike previous military campaigns.
What was notable about the meeting on Friday was that the civil and military leadership officially acknowledged for the first time that the decision to undertake peace negotiations with the TTP was a mistake.
The appeasement attitude of the previous administration toward the TTP, which was utterly at odds with popular expectations and ambitions, was blamed by the NSC for the rise in terrorism.
The NSC referred to the PTI government’s move to negotiate a peace agreement with the TTP as “not only were the militants permitted to return without trouble, but hardened TTP terrorists were also released from imprisonment in the guise of confidence building.”
The committee said that the returning terrorists planned significant assaults in Pakistan using their connections to organizations operating out of Afghanistan.
It was rare for the military leadership to criticize their forerunners for implementing a bad strategy.
The committee outspokenly denounced attempts to use social media to promote false information against state institutions and their leadership that were funded by foreign governments. Such actions, according to the statement, compromise Pakistan’s national security.
The committee reaffirmed its commitment to oppose the malicious plans of the nation’s adversaries and pledged to use all reasonable means to preserve the peace and security attained only after making enormous sacrifices.
