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Anti-Terror War
Ceasefire violations at the borders with India remain a cause of tension between Pakistan and India as military and political leadership of both countries continues to blame each other for violation. In a recent statement Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif warned India that incidents of firing along the Line of Control were a threat to international peace. He also said that Pakistan’s patience should not be taken as its weakness.
War of words started after the comments from Indian army chief that India is prepared to face offensive military action should the need arise, and that any future conflict was expected to be short and swift. Responding to the Indian army chief’s statement, Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif said that Pakistan is ready for a small scale or prolonged war if Indian leadership proceeded with the same.
India also lashed out at Pakistan for raising the Kashmir issue at the United Nations and rejected its call for a voting in Indian-held Kashmir. At the Fourth World Conference of Speakers, Murtaza Javed Abbasi, acting speaker for Pakistan’s National Assembly in his speech had demanded that Kashmiris should be given a right of self-determination which can only be done through referendum under the UN.
Crackdown on Sectarianism
Incidents of retaliation from militants were frequent this week in which a few security officials lost their lives. In a recent incident bullet-riddled bodies of six anti-Taliban militia fighters were discovered in Khyber District which increased the number of tribesmen executed by militants this week to 11. Earlier this week around 20 members of the pro-government Tauheedul Islam (TuI) militia were captured by the Taliban affiliated Lashkar-e-Islam group, who dumped five bodies in Khyber District on Monday. Police also found hand-written notes by Lashkar-e-Islam from near the dead bodies claiming the killings.
Meanwhile Pakistan has used locally developed armed drone, Burraq, in military operation against the militants this week. According to media reports a terrorist compound was hit and three militants were killed in the air strike carried out by Burraq. Pakistan already has several types of unarmed surveillance drones in operation, but ‘Burraq’ and ‘Shahpar’ were the first surveillance drones to be developed locally. The armed drone was used for the first time since its development in November 2013.
Meanwhile Balochistan Home Minister Mir Sarfaraz Ahmed Bugti claimed that there were unconfirmed reports that the chief of the banned Baloch Liberation Front (BLF), Dr Allah Nazar Baloch, had been killed during an operation by security forces. However, there was no immediate reaction from the BLF over Sarafraz Bugti’s claim.
Pak-India Relations
In a bid to control terrorism, country’s top civil-military leadership has decided to clamp down on elements involved in sectarianism. The decision was taken in a high-level meeting held to review progress of the implementation of National Action Plan (NAP) this week. The meeting also discussed introducing legislation to completely ban sectarianism and its finances and decided that there will be zero tolerance for hate speech and hate literature. Key decisions taken were approved by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Chief of Army Staff General Raheel Sharif. After the meeting in PM house, Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar, in a press conference said that leadership has decided to eliminate elements challenging the writ of the state. Interior minister also added that clerics should portray the narrative of Islam and Pakistan rather of those who kill the innocent.
Earlier this week, prime minister had also met a delegation of Ittehad-e-Tanzeem-ul-Madaris, a coalition comprising five bodies of religious seminaries belonging to different schools of thought where he said that consultation with management of religious seminaries was necessary for meaningful implementation of National Action Plan and extended full cooperation to the seminaries in this regard. The prime minister assured ulema that the government was ready to assist seminaries to introduce reforms in their education system while stressing their role to discourage sectarianism and terrorism.
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