Pakistan on Wednesday said it is determined to fight terror within its borders and the region but cautioned against the international community repeating the “past mistake of abandoning the region”, as it did so after the Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan in 1990s – a development which has had wide-ranging security implications.
Speaking at the US Institute of Peace, Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan said the Pakistani political and military leadership is united like never before in counterterrorism efforts, and the country is pursuing a comprehensive National Action Plan – achieved through political consensus – to wipe out the menace of terror as well as the militant mindset.
The minister said the December 16 terrorist killing of Army Public School children in Peshawar has galvanized the entire Pakistani nation including the political parties, civil society, media and security forces as the country has decided to “take the bull by its horns.”
“Pakistan has never been so focused (on combating terrorism in all dimensions and aspects) as it is now – there has never been this kind of unity and purpose,” he underscored at the event, attended by Pakistan’s Ambassador to the United States Jalll Abbas Jilani, members of Washington think-tank community and South Asian experts.
In this context, the interior minister cited a series of measures and reforms Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s government has taken, particularly in the aftermath of the horrific Peshawar school attack.
The minister, who presented a historic perspective of the evolution of the militancy in the region, starting with the international fight against Soviet occupation of Afghanistan, said the world cannot afford to repeat the mistake of disengaging from the region at this crucial time.
