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Civil, military top brass vows not to let suCCess against terrorism squandered g
apex committee oKayS up-gradation of nacta, ctd and poLice with weaponS, tech
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pm caLLS for nationaL unity to taKe anti-terror fight to LogicaL end
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g announceS rS2m for each martyr’S famiLy, rS0.5m for each injured of moSque bLaSt
peSHAWAr
p
SaleeM JadooN
rime minister Shehbaz Sharif on friday declared that despite repeated terrorist attacks, not a single inch of the land of Khyber pakhtunkhwa was under the control of any terrorist group or individual that reflected strong writ of the government, called for rising above personal likes and dislikes and leaving the double standard politics to curb terrorism and extremism. addressing an apex committee meeting here at Kp’s governor house on friday, pm Shehbaz said all political-religious parties’ leadership irrespective of their political, religious and linguistic ideologies should stand united to win the fight against terrorism. “it’s time for forging national unity against the menace of terrorism and all the stakeholders should shun their differences and sit together to wipe out terrorism in its all forms and manifestation”, the prime minister underscored. he expressed his government’s strong resolve that the fight against terrorism would continue till its logical end and extermination. the participants saluted the armed forces, pakistan rangers, frontier constabulary, counter-terrorism department, police and other law enforcement agencies (Leas) for their unprecedented valour against terrorism, and paid tribute to the officers and soldiers who were martyred in the terror incidents. the apex committee reiterated the resolve not to squander the sacrifices of the martyrs and successes achieved so far against terrorism. the committee also reviewed the implementation of the national action plan and deliberated over the suggestions put forth for its improvement in accordance with contemporary needs. the meeting also gave in-principle approval to the proposals for the up-gradation of national counter terrorism authority (nacta), ctd and police, and the provision of training, weapons, technology and other necessary equipment to them. the meeting reviewed in detail the incidents of terrorism, particularly the attack on police Lines and the situation that followed during which representatives of intelligence agencies briefed the committee on the overall security situation and operations against terrorists in the country. the apex committee agreed that the centre
and provinces would adopt a uniform strategy to counter terrorism and eliminate the internal facilitators of militants. ‘SoLIDARIty WIth heIRS of bLASt vIctIMS AND PeoPLe IN GeNeRAL’ according to the statement issued by pmo, the apex committee’s meeting chaired by prime minister Shehbaz Sharif, was held at governor’s house in the wake of the deadly suicide blast inside mosque at malik Saad Shaheed police Lines and was also attended chief of army Staff general asim munir. the meeting agreed to abolish all the sources assisting the terrorists in the country and directed the authorities concerned to devise an effective strategy in this regard. adopting a zero-tolerance approach against all kinds of terrorism would be the national motto, while implementation of the decisions would be ensured by national consensus, the huddle decided, the statement added. the meeting of the apex committee was attended by interior minister rana Sanullah, chief ministers of four provinces, gilgit-baltistan, federal ministers and national and political leadership except for pti leadership. KP IGP bRIefS PARtIcIPANtS on the occasion, Kp inspector-general of police muazzam jah ansari briefed participants of the
meeting regarding investigation into the police Lines blast and the progress made so far. the ig police shared details about the incident, routes the attacker used to reach the mosque, his links with terrorists network and the headway made so far to reach to the network.
SuggeStS probe, audit of rS417b given to Kp Since 2010 for LeaS’ capacity-buiLding
addressing an apex committee meeting, the prime minister said that undue criticism, propaganda and blames over the police lines’ mosque blast was highly condemnable. “we have to admit the facts behind the blast that had made the whole nation grieved and sadden.” he said that it would be probed that how the terrorist sneaked into the mosque and carried out such a huge blast that claimed around 80 to 85 innocent worshipers and many others injured. the prime minister said the federation and provinces should jointly fight out terrorism as after every incident in the past the federation was blamed for not cooperating with Kp in that regard. ‘PRobe AND AuDIt of RS417b GIveN to KP SINce 2010’ Shehbaz Sharif disclosed that rs 417 billion were provided to Kp since 2010 under the national finance commission award that was supposed to be spent for capacity-building, infrastructure development and equipment for the counter-terrorism department and wondered where that huge amount was spent in Kp. he suggested a complete probe and audit of the spending of such a huge amount in Khyber pakhtunkhwa.
Nation together will root out menace of terrorism: Gen Asim Munir RAWALPINDI: chief of army Staff (coaS) general Syed asim munir on friday appreciated the high morale of Khyber pakhtunkhwa police personnel and Law enforcement agencies (Leas) and paid rich tribute to the martyrs of police who have laid down their lives for defence of the motherland. “we as a nation together will root out this menace of terrorism till enduring peace and insha allah we shall achieve this,” said a press release of iSpr quoting gen asim munir as saying. according to iSpr, chief of army Staff (coaS) gen Syed asim munir visited site of the blast at the peshawar police Lines, where at least 100 people—mostly policemen—lost their lives when a suicide bomber blew himself up inside a packed mosque earlier this week. the inter-Services public relations (iSpr) said the army chief met with officers and men of the Khyberpakhtunkhwa police during his visit. the coaS appreciated the bravery and contribution of K-p police and law enforcement agencies (Leas) in the war against terrorism, the iSpr said. the army chief said that the K-p police was one of the bravest forces and has fought as a frontline force against terrorism. Separately, an apex committee meeting held earlier today expressed determination to protect the lives and property of the people at every cost, and to make an example of the terrorists who shed the blood of pakistanis. Staff report
Rupee plunges to new lows as IMf tightens rope g
interbanK marKet cLoSeS at rS276/uSd amid taLKS with imf reaching a tricKy junction profit report Shah Nawaz Mohal
the dollar in the interbank market on friday was trading at, what is now its highest ever value against rupee. the week’s trading saw the rupee recovering against the greenbacks. but with increased pressure on pakistan’s falling reserves, the rupee failed to make a full recovery. rather, within days, it nosedived further, crossing the 270 barrier and eventually the 275. on thursday, the interbank trading closed at rs. 271.36/uSd. the Sbp’s foreign exchange reserves were also recorded at a record low of $3.09 bil-
lion on thursday, after a decrease of $592 million during the last week. talking to the apex committee on friday, the prime minister said that the imf was giving pakistan a hard time over unlocking $1 billion, in the current unimaginable circumstances of pakistan. the premier’s statement is said to have stirred a negative sentiment amongst the market. according to media reports, the talks that started with the imf at the start of this week, after 4 days, are still nowhere near their conclusion. earlier this week, the imf asked for political consensus on its prior conditions, introducing a “charter” of sorts.
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in addition to that, in the meeting conducted on friday, the fund has shown discontentment with pakistan’s debt servicing ability. the fund has also relayed a need to increase the prevalent sales tax to 18% to bridge the taxto-gdp ratio. the imf mission plans to introduce fiscal reforms in the country and the government has also shown willingness to do so. however, under record-high inflation, which is expected to go north of 30% in the months to come, a fiscal tightening might prove to be fatal. not just for the lower income groups of the country, but also the political journey of the ruling party(ies).