Saturday, 15 October, 2022 I 18 Rabi ul Awwal, 1444 I Rs 15.00 I Vol XIII No 106 I 12 Pages I Islamabad Edition
Civil, miltary huddle deCides to fast traCk Counter-terrorism measures g
nsc orDers setting up of apeX coMMittee, revival of nacta for Monitoring of laW anD orDer
ISLAMABAD
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Mian abrar
He civil and military leadership of the country on friday decided to form a federal level apex committee headed by the prime minister and to reactivate the national counter terrorism authority (nacta) that would work together with the counter terrorism Departments (ctDs) at the provincial level to ensure maintenance of law and order situation in across country. the decisions were taken at an extraordinary session of the national security committee (nsc) held here. the meeting presided over by prime Minister Muhammad shehbaz sharif was also attended by federal ministers, services chiefs, heads of intelligence agencies and senior officials. the meeting decided to again make functional the system at the federal and provincial levels for countering terrorism. the counter terrorism system would be reviewed and steps would be identified so that the sys-
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Meeting also approves effective steps to Make security of cpec projects foolproof
tem could be made more effective, the nsc decided and added that this system would closely monitor the situation and bring improvement in the counter terrorism activities. the nsc also approved effective steps to make the security of projects of china pakistan economic corridor (cpec) foolproof. in that connection, nacta would act as a coordinator and the provinces would implement the counter terrorism plans. it was decided in the meeting that the counter terrorism system would be equipped with modern technology, with required upgradations. in this connection, availability of resources would be ensured and steps would also be taken for ramping up capabilities. according to an official statement issued by the pM’s Media Wing, the meeting reviewed the overall law and order situation in the country and vowed to ensure the security of people’s lives and property at every cost. the official handout said that the participants of the meeting vowed to reassure that the blood of every pakistan was very precious
and the law would strictly deal with every person involved in shedding the blood of any citizen of the country. “the participants of the meeting were briefed by the officials concerned on peace and security situation in the country. the participants reiterated the pledge that the sacrifices of martyrs would not be allowed to go waste, says an official statement issued here following the meeting,” the statement added. “the meeting declared that the nation and the state institutions were united, and had the same voice for protecting the life and property of the citizens, defence of the territorial integrity of pakistan, rule of constitution and law, and for enforcing the writ of the state,” the statement said. the whole nation was united with the clarity of mind on the above objectives, whose achievement would be ensured at every cost, the nsc pledged. the meeting reviewed the incidents that undermined the law and order in different parts of the country, including swat, condoled with the affected families, and prayed for the departed souls. “our citizens rendered exemplary sacrifices and played a historic role along with the brave forces in the war against terrorism.” the attendees appreciated the role of all law enforcement institutions, including pakistan army, rangers and police for establishing law and order, and for security and defence of the country, and also paid tribute to the martyred officers and jawans for the sacred cause. the meeting was held in wake of massive protests held in swat, shangla and adjoining areas over the emergence of militant groups in Malakand agency and a sharp rise in the incidents of violence, extortion and threats hurled at citizens allegedly by militant groups. in an attack on a school van, the driver of the van was martyred while several children were injured. the attack resulted into massive protests in across swat and adjoining areas. the participants saluted the families of the martyred and acknowledged that the martyred wrote great tales of bravery and courage, with their sacrifices. Member of the national assembly Mohsin Dawar and awami national party leader Mian iftikhar Hussain also attended the meeting.
Talks with TTP bore no concrete outcomes: Kh Asif ISLAMABAD staff report
Minister for Defence khawaja Muhammad asif on friday said the recent talks with the outlawed tehreek-e-taliban pakistan (ttp) bore no concrete outcomes whereas the armed forces were fully capable to contain any threat to national security. addressing the arab news pakistan annual conference 2022 as a keynote speaker, the Minister said the situation in khyber pakhtunkhwa (kp) was under control and would be tackled amicably in case of any untoward situation. khawaja asif made it clear that the kp government should take cognizance of the situation whereas the federal government would support it in any case to counter terrorism. “it is very heartening to see public coming to streets on their own for their rights. i feel confident that the situation will be controlled. However, the recent revival of few terrorists is an expected spillover from afghanistan,” he said. the Minister added that the success of relationship between pakistan and afghanistan was of great significance as pakistan could not remain oblivious to what was happening in afghanistan. “peace in pakistan is dependent on peace in afghanistan. We will use peaceful means to resolve the matter and we will use force if it’s inevitable to purge the country from the menace of terrorism.” He mentioned that the defence forces of pakistan were fully equipped and the most battle hardened anywhere in the world. “the frontline forces for the last three decades are fighting against extremism. our experiences and sacrifices are unmatchable.” the Defence Minister also shed light on the role of media in national security lens and said the importance of media for the national security was of huge significance in the present era. the kingdom of saudi arabia (ksa) had undergone very fundamental changes under the leadership of crown prince Muhammad Bin salman and media was playing fundamental role in this regard. “any change in departure from traditional way of governance to modern era practices is something like a paradigm shift which has occurred in the ksa.”
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Imran dubs by-polls referendum to decide country’s fate KARACHI staff report
former prime minister and pakistan tehreek-e-insaf (pti) chairman imran khan declared on friday that history will always remember “those” who let the “foreign conspiracy” succeed and installed the “imported government” in pakistan. He termed the by-elections taking place in karachi on sunday a “referendum” to decide “fate” of the country, addressing a rally in karachi’s shah faisal colony, imran asked people to reject the “imported government” through the verdict of vote in the by-elections. “the oppression you did to this country, even our enemies would not have been able to do,” the pti chief said. it is to be noted that by-polls to two national assembly constituencies of karachi — na-237 (Malir-ii) and na239 (korangi-i) — will take place on sunday (tomorrow). the pti chief expressed his hope that the people will answer the ‘conspirators’ via their vote on sunday, saying that it was not just by-elections but a referendum. “Will we remain slaves or see real freedom? only a free mind, free humans and free countries prosper. However, only slaves behave the way cherry blossom behaves,” imran said while re-
ferring to prime Minister shehbaz sharif. imran said that during his tenure, when a foreign dignitary arrived to meet him, the foreign office used to brief him about the person. “When shehbaz goes for any meeting, everyone knows he has billions of dollars in foreign banks,” he added. He said that the next generation of the current rulers was ready to take over. “Dignified nations do not beg but shehbaz begs whenever he sees a white person,” he added. lashing out at the premiere for his body language while meeting russian president vladimir putin, imran said that he was sitting like a schoolchild before the headmaster. He said that shehbaz and his son were about to be punished but instead, they were imposed upon the nation. talking about the performance of his government, the former premier said that the last two years of the pti government were the best in the last 17 years as the country grew by 5.7% and 6% in terms of gDp growth. “according to World Bank, pakistan provided the most jobs after the coronavirus pandemic. all institutions of the world were accepting that pakistan was among the three countries which saved its economy and poor from the coron-
avirus pandemic. ehsaas programme was also widely lauded,” he added. imran said that he was soon going to give the biggest long march call in pakistan’s history. “ocean of people will be out. it will give message to all where the nation stands. people don’t take this as politics but jihad,” he added. the former prime minister said that all political movements used to begin in karachi. “MQM used to sit with us. i ask them now are they happy to sit with
Zardari? are your issues resolved? Has Zardari resolved karachi’s problems,” he questioned. He said that karachi is pakistan’s financial capital. “if karachi prospers, pakistan prospers. if karachi is unwell, the entire country feels it. it is the financial engine of pakistan,” he added. imran said that during pti’s tenure, despite the fact the party did not have government in the province, it managed to finish greenline Brt project and
also addressed karachi’s long-standing water problem. “for the first time, i see that interior sindh is also ready for real freedom. after i’m done with [long] march, my entire focus will be on interior sindh. i will come to karachi as well. My sindhi brothers, be ready. i will go to every district. We will free you from this beemari called Zardari,” he added. imran said that sunday’s by-polls were not just elections but a referendum. “the fate of the country is being decided. these dacoits first loot the country and then make deals. When they’re held accountable, they flee abroad and seek nro,” he said. He said that since the current rulers have come into power, inflation has reached record levels. “We have never seen such inflated rates of electricity and petrol. When we left, the price of petrol and diesel was around rs150 per litre. the salaried class is the hardest hit. the rupee has also devalued by 30 per cent,” he added. He further said that the almighty has ordered all of us to be with the righteous, adding that he has not allowed us to be ‘neutral’. “you must think of this as jihad and not just elections,” he concluded.
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