Operation launched in Punjab on COAS’s order

PM also directs law enforcement agencies to initiate action against terrorists in Punjab border areas; Gen Raheel instructs security forces not to take political clout into consideration in crackdown on terror elements; hundreds arrested, huge cache of arms, explosives recovered from different areas of province

ISLAMABAD: On the orders of the Chief of the Army Staff (COAS), the Pakistan Army on Monday, acting proactively, launched a crackdown on terrorists, banned outfits and their facilitators in the Punjab and arrested a number of suspected terrorists and their facilitators in various parts of the province. The executing authorities had been asked not to take into consideration any clout while carrying out their task, the sources added.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has also directed the police and other law enforcement agencies to launch an operation against the terrorists and their abettors in the border areas of the Punjab.

The operation in the Punjab was launched by the Pakistan Army in the wake of the Sunday evening suicide terrorist attack in a Lahore park that killed more than 70 people and injured about 350. The arrests had been made within a span of 10 hours.

In a meeting held at the General Headquarters (GHQ), COAS General Raheel Sharif said the executing authorities would not take into consideration any political clout while carrying out their task, the sources added.

Director General Inter-Services Public Relations (DG ISPR) Lieutenant General Asim Saleem Bajwa stated that besides arresting suspects, a huge cache of arms and ammunition had also been recovered. The arrests had been made in intelligence based operations (IBOs). 

It is pertinent to mention here that the scope of the action had been provided by the National Action Plan (NAP). The DG ISPR maintained that intelligence institutions along with the army and Rangers carried out five operations in Lahore, Faisalabad and Multan between Sunday and Monday night. He pointed out that operations were underway as more leads were available and these were pouring in.

The sources said the Chief of the Army Staff, General Raheel Sharif, on Monday again chaired a high-level security meeting at the General Headquarters (GHQ), the second huddle on the subject in less than 16 hours. It continued for about five hours in which an outline for the next operations were determined

The meeting also reviewed the progress of the operation in the Punjab, which was initiated on a war-footing on Sunday evening with the purpose to nab terrorists in the aftermath of Lahore’s deadly blast. 

Meanwhile, in a meeting that he chaired, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said that the resolve of the government and the nation to fight terrorism was getting stronger. “Our goal is not only to eliminate the terror infrastructure but also the extremist mindset, which is a threat to our way of life,” the PM said.

The meeting reviewed the Lahore terror attack and the overall strategy against terrorists. According to a press release issued here from the PM Office, the meeting was briefed by heads of the law enforcement and intelligence agencies on different lead-based progress regarding the Lahore terror attack.

The PM said, “Winning the war on terror is imperative for us. Our resolve to fight terrorism as a nation and as a government is getting stronger while the cowardly enemy is trying to hit soft targets.” The PM stressed more proactive coordination between the law enforcement and intelligence agencies. “The provinces should speed up intelligence-based operations against terrorists,” he said adding, “We must take this war to the doors of the terrorist outfits before they are able to hit our innocent countrymen.”

The PM said that the terrorists had assassinated our children, sons and daughters in this war and God willing they would be wiped out from the country. The meeting was attended by Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, Minister for Interior Ch Nisar Ali Khan and Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah Khan.

Director general Intelligence Bureau, Punjab’s chief secretary and home secretary, Inspector General of Police Punjab and other senior government officials were also present in the meeting.