ISLAMABAD - As the federal government plans devising the first ever national security policy of the country, the political and military leadership have expressed their firm determination to deal with the menace of terrorism with national consensus.
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif Tuesday night chaired a meeting at the PM House which was attended by Army Chief General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani, Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif and National Security Advisor to the PM Sartaj Aziz.
Sources said the meeting which lasted for several hours and the participants reviewed the complete situation and took important decisions. Both the civilian elite and military leadership were on same page on all important issues and now in coming days the premier would take the political leadership across the political spectrum into confidence and would take their input on the most sensitive matter confronting the nation, the sources said.
They said that Ch Nisar gave a detailed briefing about his recent visit to Balochistan and expressed strong reservations about lack of coordination between security and intelligence institutions. The prime minister took a serious notice of the situation and directed that all the civil and military institutions must ensure close coordination and sharing of intelligence. The COAS assured the meeting that the matter would be thoroughly investigated.
They said that participants of the meeting were also on same page regarding the negative fallout of the ongoing drone attacks in maintenance of peace and order in the restive tribal areas, and it would adversely affect the Nato forces’ withdrawal from Afghanistan via Pakistan. The meeting decided that the matter of drone strikes would be taken up with the United States through diplomatic channels and efforts would be made to make them realise that it was hampering the peace efforts by Pakistan and proving counterproductive in controlling the menace of terrorism.
The meeting also decided that the government would soon call an All-Party Conference to evolve a national strategy to deal with law and order situation. The leaders of parties, both in and out of the parliament, to take them onboard on the future line of action to put back the genie of terrorism back in the bottle.
Sources said that for devising a national security policy, a meeting has been called today (Thursday) that would discuss cooperation of federal agencies with provincial governments in maintaining law and order, ensuring good governance and new policies and priorities pertaining to law and order. The chiefs of security and intelligence agencies will attend the meeting and present their recommendations. After being finalised in the meeting, the federal cabinet will approve the security policy.
Meanwhile, after taking a briefing on the Strategic Programme here on Wednesday morning by the Strategic Plans Division Director General Lt-Gen (r) Khalid Ahmed Kidwai, PM Nawaz Sharif expressed his full confidence in the management and security structures of Pakistan’s nuclear installations. He said that the Strategic Programme had matured over the years, and had ensured full spectrum deterrence against external aggression, thereby reinforcing peace in the region.
The prime minister, who is the chairman of the National Command Authority (NCA), reiterated his government’s unstinted resolve and commitment to the centrality of the Strategic Programme to national security. The briefing was attended by the Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, Special Advisors, Sartaj Aziz and Tariq Fatmi, and Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee General Khalid Shameen Wynne.