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Thursday March 28, 2024

‘Fighting terror is joint effort of state organs’

By Shakeel Anjum
February 17, 2017

 Holding only Interior Ministry responsible for any lapse is unfair

ISLAMABAD: Reacting to media reports that quoted certain observations of a judge of the Supreme Court about the Ministry of Interior, the spokesperson for the Ministry has said that the security and law and order is a shared responsibility.

Blaming the Ministry of Interior for everything amounts to ignoring both the Constitution and the facts on ground. It is not fair or within the realm of law and the Constitution for anybody to pass observations against anybody in absentia.

The spokesperson said that the performance of the Ministry of Interior during the last three and a half years has been placed before the Supreme Court bench headed by Justice Amir Hani Muslim. It would have been more relevant if the report was studied, absorbed and then commented upon.

The spokesperson further said that Interior Ministry is not an operational body as it is an organ of the federal government with limitation on authority governed by the Constitution and it works in close coordination with the armed forces, security agencies, provincial governments and intelligence agencies of the country. It is a manifestation of the performance of all concerned that terrorism has taken a steep dip over the last three years.

The spokesperson said that Jamaatul Ahrar was not an organisation based in Pakistan. It operated from across the border. It had been proscribed as per law. Jamaatul Ahrar was actually a cover organisation of TTP Mohmand, which was also proscribed a few years earlier.

The spokesperson further said that the Ministry of Interior, in coordination with all security agencies, has made every effort to counter the nefarious activities of all the terrorist organisations and the record speaks for itself wherein hundreds of terrorists have been killed or arrested or have fled across the border into the neighbouring countries.

In the environment where the security situation is improving as a result of coordinated efforts and sacrifices of all stakeholders, such observation can cause frustration, despondency and discouragement amongst those who are fighting against the enemy on the ground.