Fingers crossed as army moves against Punjab terror outfits

• PM, COAS hold separate huddles to review security situation after Gulshan-e-Iqbal Park attack
• COAS orders army to start operation against terrorists in Punjab
• PM insists we’re winning the war against terrorists, says govt’s leniency should not be construed as weakness

A day after a Taliban suicide bomber killed 72 people in a Lahore park, both the civilian government and the army leadership expressed their resolve to eliminate terrorism from the country.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in his address to the nation on Monday night reiterated Pakistan’s “resolve to fight the menace of terrorism till it is rooted out from our society”.

“The government’s leniency should not be mistaken for the State’s weakness,” warned the premier.

The prime minister said that the entire nation is mourning after the terror attack in Lahore.

“I am here today to reiterate our national resolve to fight the menace of terrorism till it is rooted out from our society,” said Nawaz, adding that although the armed forces are carrying out Operation Zarb-e-Azb, the fight is not over yet.

The prime minister’s address, the shortest for Nawaz Sharif, did not fail to generate controversy. There was speculation throughout the day that the civil and military leadership were not on the same page regarding a full operation against terrorist outfits in Punjab.

The army leadership chaired a separate meeting during the day and then announced that Chief of Army Staff General Raheel Sharif had ordered a “full-blown operation” against terrorists in Punjab. The prime minister’s speech, while it referred to the operation in general terms, did not talk about one in Punjab.

The PML-N leadership, including its Punjab chief minister have put up stiff resistance to calls for a paramilitary operation in Punjab.

Referring to the recent wave of terrorist attacks outside of Pakistan, the premier said, “Terrorism has become a global threat and the whole world is affected by it.”

“In the past three years, the government and security agencies — with the national resolve backing them — have reduced terrorist activities,” Nawaz said.

The prime minister said the country is on “the path of success despite ongoing terror attacks, and the government is on track to make Pakistan the land of happiness and success.”

The premier also paid his deepest condolences to the injured and the families who lost their loved ones in the Lahore attack.

While Sharif talked about protesters harming public property in Islamabad, he did not address the issue of the ongoing sit-in at D-Chowk in his recorded speech.

MILITARY OPERATION:

Meanwhile, a high-level military huddle, chaired by Gen Raheel Sharif at the General Headquarters in Rawalpindi decided that the Army and Rangers will conduct a widespread operation across Punjab to target militants, their facilitators and their hideouts.

The crackdown would give paramilitary Rangers extraordinary powers to conduct raids and interrogate suspects similar to those the Rangers have used for more than two years in Karachi, a senior security official based in Lahore said.

“The technicalities are yet to be worked out. There are some legal issues also with bringing in Rangers, but the military and government are on the same page,” he said.

One other military official and two government officials confirmed the decision on condition of anonymity.

Earlier on Monday, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General Lt Gen Asim Bajwa said a number of suspects had been nabbed in five operations across Punjab, without officially saying a widespread operation had been launched similar to those underway in the country’s northwest and Karachi.

The operation is continuing with full force, he said.

A number of “suspected terrorists and facilitators” were arrested during the five raids which were conducted in Lahore, Faisalabad and Multan after the Lahore suicide explosion, said Gen Bajwa.

He added that a “huge cache of arms and ammunition” were also recovered by security officials during the raids.

Police was also able to identify the Lahore suicide bomber as Yousuf, son of Ghulam Farid, a resident of Muzzafargarh.

Security personnel have been stationed outside the alleged bomber’s house in Muzaffargarh, and police claim to have arrested three members of his family for interrogation.

A well placed source told Pakistan Today that an operation had formally been launched across Punjab led by Army and Rangers with support from intelligence agencies.

“Lahore’s Corps Commander Lt General Sadiq Ali will be overseeing the drive against militants in the province,” the source said, adding that Gen Raheel will be personally supervising the operation.

About those apprehended in Monday’s operations, the source said that all the suspects have been moved to undisclosed locations for interrogations.

“All those arrested are being investigated. Terrorists’ financiers, abettors and facilitators will also be rounded up. Sleeper cells of the proscribed organisations will be eliminated. The intelligence agencies have already been working over this task. The COAS has made it clear that no pressure should be accepted from any quarter,” the source added.

It is yet to be seen whether the operation will also be conducted against leaders of proscribed outfits like Hafiz Saeed, Masood Azhar, Mohammad Ahmed Ludhyanvi, Maulana Abdul Aziz and other non-state actors who have been protected in the past.

LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES, STEP UP YOUR GAME:

Earlier in the day, Nawaz Sharif, while chairing a high-level security meeting in Lahore, called for more proactive coordination among law enforcement and intelligence agencies against terrorism.

He said the provinces must step up intelligence-based operations against terrorists, adding that the goal is not only to eliminate the terror infrastructure but also to get rid of the extremist mindset.

He said the provinces should also speed up intelligence-based operations against terrorists. Nawaz Sharif said we must take this war to the doors of terrorist outfits before they are able to hit our innocent countrymen.

The prime minister said winning the war against terror is imperative for us. He said our resolve is getting stronger against terrorism and the cowardly enemy is hitting soft targets in utter desperation.

He said our goal is not only to dismantle terror infrastructure but also the extremist mindset which is a threat to our way of life.

The meeting was briefed by heads of law enforcement and intelligence agencies on security situation and progress on investigations into Lahore attack.

‘THE PUNJAB OPERATION’:

Senior defence analyst Hasan Askari said he was of the opinion that the decision to conduct an operation in Punjab was “an outcome of what happened in Lahore yesterday”.

“The Punjab government has wanted to spearhead the entire counter-terrorism investigation in the province through the Counter-Terrorism Department. They have said they do not want the Army and Rangers to intervene.”

Askari believes a “side has been picked in the argument,” with the Army taking the initiative. “What remains to be seen is whether this is a change of policy or a temporary reaction.”

“If it is a change of policy, then it can make a difference. But if it is a temporary reaction and the Punjab government is not in favour of the operation, then things can get complicated,” Askari said.

“Our civilian governments are often hesitant to go after these sorts of groups. These groups are present in Punjab and in other provinces. It isn’t unusual to ask the Army or Rangers to help out with these groups,” he said.

But this did not mean that the civilian government’s responsibility had ended, Askari added.

Askari said he believed the Army should be summoned, “but what we have to observe now is the nature of the investigation.”

“It is possible that this is a temporary reaction to catch the groups, after which the Army will hand matters over to the Punjab government. Or matters could proceed as they have in Sindh, where the Army and Rangers are playing a foundational role in investigating terrorists,” he said.

Sunday’s terrorist attack was the deadliest since the December 2014 massacre of 134 school children at Army Public School in the city of Peshawar that prompted a military-led crackdown on militancy and terrorism.

TTP Jamaat-ul-Ahrar accepted responsibility for the attack and said it were part of their ‘annual martyrdom attacks’. Taliban spokesperson Ehsanullah Ehsan said they had started a new campaign called Saut-ul-raad (the sound of lightning) against non-Muslims, especially Christians.

With additional inputs from wire agencies.