No leniency or talks with terrorists; nation united to root out terrorism: PM

Liaquat Ali

Islamabad: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday categorically announced that the government would neither hold any talks nor show any leniency to the terrorists who were poised to disrupt the country’s journey towards progress.

“The time has come to eliminate terrorism. The sacrifices being rendered for the cause will never be squandered. We need to move forward with firm resolve. There is no question of any weakness. We are open to talks with those who believe in the supremacy of Pakistan’s constitution and respect its flag. But there can be no leniency or talks with those who are enemies in the guise of friends. This is a clear message. There are no two opinions on this,” the prime minister said addressing the meeting of the federal cabinet chaired by him.

The prime minister began his remarks by reiterating the condemnation of the terror incidents held in different parts of the country during the last couple of days killing dozens of citizens and the officers and personnel of the security forces.

The cabinet members also offered Fateha for the victims of terror incidents and Rana Afzaal, the brother of Federal Minister Rana Tanveer Hussain, who passed away on Monday.

The prime minister said that it was no secret that the terrorists of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) operating from Afghanistan were behind these terrorist attacks. The government has sensitised the Afghan government on the subject and also taken effective actions against them, he added.

Referring to the killing of passengers in Balochistan on Monday, he said such incidents could not terrorize the people.

“Such unholy designs are just meant to impede the country’s progress, ongoing CPEC projects in Balochistan and undermine the relationship between Pakistan and China,” he remarked.

He told the cabinet members that the government had assured to provide all-out resources to the armed forces to fight out the terrorists and that the Chief of the Army Staff General Syed Asim Munir and the armed forces personnel were determined to purge this scourge.

“Inshallah, their nefarious designs will be foiled, provided we identify our enemies and forge unity to eliminate them,” he urged.

Calling the recent terror incidents a “moment of reflection”, Prime Minister Shehbaz reiterated there was no room for terrorists in the country.

He announced that he would visit Balochistan very soon to hold in-depth deliberations on the situation and decide on immediate measures.