ISLAMABAD: Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan Wednesday said fighting the war on terrorism was the collective responsibility of the whole political leadership and security forces, and expressed the resolve to win the same with unity and courage.
“A message of unity from all the political leadership must be disseminated that no one could make a dent in our resolve to wipe out terrorism from the country,” he said while concluding a debate in Senate on the recent terror attacks in Quetta and Mardan.
He said it was the responsibility of the government, its institutions and the nation to face the menace with courage because “we are fighting with an invisible enemy.”
The minister said the sacrifices of police should not be forgotten, who were fighting without proper equipment but sacrificing their lives in line of duty with commitment and dedication.
The role of intelligence agencies was very important as they were fighting the war of survival of Pakistan. The intelligence agencies had informed prior to many major terror incidents like the Bannu Jail attack, APS, Bacha Khan University, Karachi airport and Wahga border attacks.
He said more than 20,000 intelligence based operations were conducted in the country in which thousands of criminals had been arrested.
The minister said a remarkable achievement had been reported regarding terrorist attacks as their number had been decreased as compared to the incidents in past governments.
According to a US State Department report, he said, death toll in terrorism related incidents in 2015 had come down to 39 per cent while 56 per cent reduction was witnessed in first nine months of the current year.
“We should encourage the morale of our security forces rather demoralizing them,” he said and added there might be some issues but as a whole their performance was outstanding.
He said a lot more had to be done. “The war is still continuing and we will have to do much more for complete eradication of terrorism from our soil,” he added.
He said more than 500 army men had lost their lives in the operation Zarb-e-Azb.
Being a part of government, he said the PKMAP leaders should be careful in issuing any adverse remarks at the floor of House. They they were not only coalition partner in Balochistan government but also in the federal government, he added.
If they had any reservations they should bring it in the high level security meetings, he said.
About investigation into the Mardan and Quetta attacks, the minister said three suspected persons had been arrested, who were being probed by intelligence agencies.
He said the intelligence agencies were working to reach the facilitators of both the attacks by using the latest technology.
He assured the House would be informed about development pertaining to attacks probe.
He said the VVIP visits on such occasions should be avoided as it created diversion in medical assistance. The issue would be raised at high level security meetings and the message of the Parliament would be conveyed to the high-ups. About performance of the government, he said there was no record of militant organizations in the country before 2015, but the present government made a data bank of all such organizations including the banned.
He said in last several months several foreign airlines had been fined with millions of rupees for bringing illegal foreigners to Pakistan. Human smuggling had been stopped to a great extent while no illegal passport had been issued during the last three years, he added.
He said in 2011-12 only 500 faked identity cards were blocked against hundreds of thousands during the last three years. There was no discrimination with any group or sect in this drive.
He said 29,000 faked passports were cancelled. All those issues were linked to national security, he added.
He assured the House that he was accountable to the Parliament. Difference of opinion was the right of every person but personal attacks should be avoided, he added. —APP
