LAHORE: Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced that the Punjab province will seek the assistance of Rangers for countering terrorists. The decision was made in a meeting of an apex committee chaired by the Chief Minister on Sunday.
The high-up meeting was attended by National Security Advisor Lieutenant General (retd) Nasir Janjua, Corps Commander Lahore Lieutenant General Sadiq Ali, Provincial Minister for Anti-Terrorism Lieutenant Colonel (retd) Mohammad Ayub, Director General of Punjab Rangers Major General Azhar Naveed Hayat, GOC 10 Division Major General Sardar Tariq Aman, Chief Secretary, IG Punjab and other civil and military officials.
Among the many important decisions taken in the meeting, it was decided that relentless operations will be conducted against terrorists. Anyone found to be aiding or abetting thess terrorists will also be treated as equally guilty. No distinction will be made between leaders and low-ranking members of these terrorist organistaions, and action against both will be equally stringent.
Vowing to “root out all terrorists and their facilitators from the Pakistani soil,” Shehbaz Sharif said “The entire nation is united on the war against terrorism.” The civil and military leadership seemed to be on the same page in the meeting and were resolved to cut off the financial streams of terrorist outfits and to increase the radar of their intelligence gathering. He went on to describe terrorists as “a scourge on our home soil.”
The exact procedure on how to utilise the Rangers’ help in countering terrorists has not yet been revealed and is expected to be laid out at a later date.
The subject of Afghanistan and its link to the recent wave of terror in the country was also brought up, and it was decided that intensive monitoring of Punjab’s internal borders was needed to restrict the inflow of Afghan refugees.
The civil and military leaders attending the committee session offered fatiha for the martyrs of the deadly bombings which have plagued the nation over the past week and prayed for the recovery of those injured.
