Editorial Failure not an option: COAS Chief of Army Staff Gen Raheel Sharif has said that failure to eliminate all manifestations of extremism and terrorism at the grass roots level in our country is not an option, no matter what the cost. According to ISPR, he expressed these views while attending the special meeting of the Punjab Apex Committee held at Corps Headquarters Lahore on Saturday. In a bid to coordinate the security and to implement the recently approved National Action Plan (NAP), Provincial Apex committees have been formed in all provinces which will constitute both military and political leadership. To kick off the process of implementation, special meeting of the Punjab Apex Committee was held at Corps Headquarters Lahore today. Chief Minister Punjab along with senior provincial officials attended the meeting. underpinning the importance of civil military coordination mechanism COAS Gen Raheel Sharif attended the meeting. Corps Commanders from across the province were present during the meeting. Chief of Army Staff is absolutely correct that no matter what we have to sacrifice, the menace of terrorism must be gotten rid of in Pakistan otherwise our own existence in shape of our country will be in jeopardised and comprised. What a great move to see formation of committees in all provinces comprising both civil and military leadership to deal with terrorists and their objectives. And no other place could have been better than Punjab to begin the first meeting of such committees. We hope to know more about the functioning of such committee with regard to the FATA as well because FATA does not fall under any province and that is the breeding and play ground area of the terrorists. Who will be members of that committee is something which we will all be waiting to see in coming days. If that committee comprise of only the military leadership along with the Khyber Pakhtunkwa Governor and the political agents then the desired results will not be achieved as compared to the committee having locals in shape of tribal elders, the Maliks, or the serving or retired officers belonging to FATA. This is a great opportunity for the Prime Minister and the Army Chief to discuss the creation of new province for the tribal agencies of FATA. It has also been discussed on many forums and recommended by many intellectuals and media groups including our selves that FATA needs a province to itself. Enough of the draconian laws such as FCR, the menace of drug trade, the manufacturing of arms and ammunition and the illegal trade to and from Afghanistan which are main contentions and hurdles of bringing peace and stability in the FATA region. Last week PTI chairman, Imran Khan had stated that FATA should be brought under the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government. All we can say to Imran Khan is that if PTI led government takes three months to replace a grade eighteen officer then how can they solve the complex problems of FATA which includes huge territory, large population and different international terrorists groups working in both sides of the border. FATA needs a separate province to itself and that it is the only and best solution to its problems. It seems that the National Action Plan has begun its initial functioning and now we will be seeing some hard decisions and bold actions. The government will be all praised for any and every bold decision they take to eliminate terrorism. Nobody despite their political affiliation or business relations should be spared who is involved in supporting terrorists. And this will be the hardest decision of these committees to take. Terrorists could have never become so strong unless there was no support given to them by our own countrymen. These thuggish countrymen needs to be pointed out and eliminated and no excuses or favouritism should made while making these decisions. Of course there will be hue and cry by many politicians, landlords, industrialists, media outlets, bureaucrats and religious leaders. But the government and the army must sustain the pressure and that is where the true successes will be waiting to be achieved. Government spokesman Pervez Rashid and Army Spokesman, General Asim Bajwa will need to improve the communication system with both local and international media. They should give the progress report of NAP on weekly basis to national and international media and it should be done through joint press conferences in different provinces of the country. The communication tools of both PID and ISPR should be made stronger and up to intentional standards so that there is no ambiguity to the citizens of this country or the international community with regard to what Pakistan is doing against war on terrorism and what are the achievements and the losses. Present government and the Army is all praised for at the moment for the decisions it has taken against the terrorism and all eyes are set on them to bring about peace and harmony in Pakistan. Pakistan and Pakistanis have suffered enough and now its time to pay back with equal coin.
Posted on: Tue, 06 Jan 2015 05:58:34 +0000
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