Karachi operation to go on come what may: PM, COAS

ISLAMABAD: The Chief of the Army Staff (COAS), General Raheel Sharif, and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif during a meeting at the PM House on Tuesday agreed that the Karachi operation will go on irrespective of any political expediency.
The meeting is viewed as significant in the backdrop of recent developments with regard to the ongoing Operation Zarb-e-Azb to eliminate terrorism and heinous crimes.
The serious ceasefire violations on the LoC/ Working Boundary by India were also discussed. The PM House officially stated later that “they (PM and COAS) reviewed matters pertaining to national security and also discussed progress made so far in the operation against terrorists”.
The sources said that the meeting that lasted about three hours covered several areas of national security. It was agreed that there would be no let-up in the operation in any part of the country. No pressure would be accepted in this regard, it was decided.
Discussing the operation in Karachi, the two agreed that courts would decide the cases regardless of their background, political or otherwise, the sources said.
Resumption of dialogue with Afghanistan for which Sartaj Aziz is leaving for Kabul, the roadmap for the future course of dealing with the Afghan situation, developments in Balochistan and implementation of the National Action Plan (NAP) in Punjab with special reference to the assassination of Punjab Home Minister Col (retd) Shuja Khanzada were also discussed in the meeting. The Punjab Rangers have initiated action in this regard, the sources said.
The PM and the COAS noticed that the modus operandi of sectarian outfits operating in Punjab was different from the Taliban; hence, a different approach was being followed to deal with them.
The two also discussed the actions taken in the wake of the visit of US President Barack Obama’s National Security Adviser (NSA) Dr Susan Rice and President Obama’s Special Assistant for South Asian Affairs Dr Peter Lavoy to Pakistan and their meetings with the high-ups here.
The sources said Nawaz appreciated the army chief’s visit to Sialkot following the unprovoked Indian firing across the LoC and Working Boundary last week where eight people were killed and 47 injured.
They condemned the Indian attitude and aggressive posturing that is causing a loss of lives and properties of the civilian population of the area. Nawaz said the government had already taken up the matter with the United Nations and all other fora would also be exploited to expose the Indian aggression, the sources added.