PM Shehbaz calls for whole-of-government approach to eliminate terrorism

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Mohammad Shehbaz Sharif Saturday called for collective efforts to combat terrorism and steer the country on the path of sustainable development.

Chairing a meeting of the Apex Committee of the National Action Plan in Islamabad today, he emphasized that the responsibility of eliminating terrorism lies with all federal and provincial governments, as well as institutions, underscoring the need for a collective and coordinated approach to eradicate this menace from the country.

“It is the joint responsibility of all of us to enforce the state’s accountability fully and without exception,” the prime minister said while addressing an Apex Committee meeting, attended by the chief ministers of all the provinces, federal ministers, and senior military leadership.

PM Shehbaz Sharif noted that the personnel of the armed forces have been rendering sacrifices in the war on terrorism and also registered successes that have no precedence.

He said terrorism had plagued Pakistan in various ways for two and a half decades. The problem of terrorism in Pakistan, he said was very complex and there was a deadly relationship between terrorism, crime, drugs, trafficking, extremism, and religious hatred.

The prime minister said all the institutions and provincial governments were relying solely on the Pakistan Armed Forces to fight against terrorism absolving themselves of any such responsibility. He said it was a dangerous trend that had been developed in the last few years which would not help completely uproot the menace of terrorism from the country.

The Prime Minister held out a firm assurance to provide the necessary equipment and resources to the security forces in the fight against terrorism. He said legislation will also be done to strengthen the hands of the law enforcement agencies.

“Irrespective of all differences, we should take this responsibility and support our armed forces in this regard,” he said adding “Putting the responsibility upon solely a single institution will be a blatant mistake”.

The Prime Minister underlined the need for greater coordination and harmony amongst the institutions to achieve concrete results and ensure long-term stability.

Besides, he stressed that active diplomacy would also be required to take action against the terrorist elements outside Pakistan.
The prime minister also emphasized the need for legislative action to empower law enforcement agencies, identifying the existing legal gaps as a major obstacle to effective counter-terrorism operations.

He also assured the Pakistan Army and the Ministry of Interior to provide all possible resources and tools to support the war against terrorism.

PM Shehbaz dismissed the ongoing campaign against Pak-China relations as a baseless and malicious social media-driven dirty campaign designed to destabilize the country.

He said the Chinese leadership had countered this campaign through their statements which showed how they gave importance to their relationship with Pakistan.