QUETTA: Prime Minister Imran Khan Tuesday lauded the valour of the country’s security forces in fight against terrorism, saying that the Pakistan army had excelled in its professionalism and helped in ridding Pakistan of terrorism.
The premier expressed these views while addressing the troops at Naushki, Balochistan where he spent a whole day.
This was the town where a security post came under attack last week from terrorists, leaving four soldiers martyred. The army killed 20 militants in intense, hours-long firefights and follow-up operations.
The prime minister was accompanied by the army chief and members of his cabinet including Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Minister for Information Fawad Chaudhry, Minister for Interior Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed, chief minister and Governor Balochistan.
Khan said the menace of terrorism can’t stop the ‘strong and resilient nation’ from progressing and moving forward.
Khan vowed to give a befitting response to the militants who were attempting, albeit in vain, to hamper the pace of development, particularly in Balochistan.
No other army had faced such unprecedented challenges due to now-frequent instances of terrorism in the wake of the war in Afghanistan, he said.
The prime minister recalled he was shocked to learn about the twin attacks in the districts of Nushki and Panjgur and wanted to spend time with the soldiers who he said were waging a jihad against the militancy.
“Not only me, but the whole nation stands with our soldiers,” Khan observed.
The prime minister said he especially came to Nushki to express solidarity with the armed forces on behalf of the nation.
He observed that in the prolonged war against terrorism, the valour with which the military and law enforcement agencies fought terrorism was matchless. With their bravery and sacrifices, they secured the country from terrorism, he added.
Khan said all those who sacrificed their lives achieve a special place in the heavens and pointed out the martyrs have the second-highest rank there after the prophets.
He said it was an honour for the Muslims when they lay down their lives for their country.
The prime minister announced a raise of 15 percent for the officers and troops of the two agencies.
He said the entire nation had a firm belief in the capability of the forces to thwart any threat. “The entire nation has the confidence that terrorists cannot cause any harm to the country,” he maintained.
The forces had restored peace in the country after waging a war on terror.
The prime minister said the present government was spending lavishly on the uplift of Balochistan with a host of development projects something he said had never been undertaken by any government in the past.
Hailing the construction of the Chaman-Quetta and Karachi highways as the “biggest project” to transform the lives of the people and conditions of the province, the prime minister said his government had already allocated funds for the project.
He resolved that more funds would be allocated for the development of the province in future as the government was fully focused on the alleviation of the backwardness of several towns, including former tribal areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Gilgit-Baltistan.
Khan said the government was determined to bring extensive development in the province in the coming days that no outside power would succeed in misguiding the people into destabilising the country.
The next phase of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) would benefit the people of Balochistan as it would bring industrialisation, materialise the establishment of special economic zones (SEZs) and transfer technology in the agriculture sector to help boost productivity.
He said China had been assisting Pakistan in increasing its agri-yields and expressed the confidence that soon, Pakistan would become an agriculture crop exporting nation.
Referring to the global price hike, the prime minister said it had affected all the countries of the world, including the strong economies like the US and UK, which had been experiencing record inflation levels.
Khan said that the government was cognisant of the problems faced by the salaried class due to the price hike, therefore, it was focused on the steps to bring ease to their lives.
The petroleum prices had increased worldwide which also impacted the prices of interlinked sectors, he observed.
The prime minister, however, expressed that as soon as the government’s revenues increased, it would increase the salaries of its employees.
Top 100 corporations across the country earned about Rs950 billion in profits last year and he had appealed to them to increase the salaries of their staff, he recalled.
CABINET MEETING CANCELED
In a tweet, Minister for Information Fawad Chaudhry said a weekly meeting of the cabinet was cancelled because of Khan’s visit.
Paying tribute to the military, he said: “Soldiers whose determination is higher than the mountains and passion deeper than the sea are our pride. These sons of Pakistan are showing great valour for the [defense of] motherland.”
آج کابینہ کا اجلاس منسوخ کردیاگیا ہے، وزیراعظم اور آرمی چیف آج کا دن بلوچستان میں سیکیورٹی فورسز کے جوانوں کے ساتھ گزاریں گے،جوان جن کے عزم پہاڑوں سے بلند اور جذبوں میں سمندروں سے زیادہ وسعت ہے ہمارا فخر بھی ہیں اور ہمارا مان بھی، پاکستان کے یہ بیٹے مادر وطن کیلئےسربکف ہیں
— Ch Fawad Hussain (@fawadchaudhry) February 8, 2022
In a statement, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said Gen. Bajwa will spend the day with troops and also meet soldiers who repulsed the attack.
Gen. Bajwa will also be briefed about the security situation in the area as well as operational preparedness of the formation to counter-terrorist activities.
The military’s media wing further said the army chief and the prime minister will be given a joint comprehensive briefing later in the day.
They will also meet local tribal elders, it added.
TWIN ATTACKS
The militants attacked two security forces camps in the districts of Nushki and Panjgur late at night on February 2 and both attacks were eventually repulsed.
The attacks, the biggest in recent years by militant groups active in the province, came hours before Prime Minister Khan landed in Beijing for the opening of the Winter Olympics.
A recently formed militant group, the Balochistan Nationalist Army (BNA), claimed responsibility for the attacks in a Twitter post.
The military said nine attackers were killed in Nushki, while four troops, including an officer, were martyred. It said in Panjgur, security forces repulsed the attack after an intense exchange of fire and the attackers fled the area.
Security forces began an operation to hunt down the fleeing attackers and a curfew in the areas was imposed.
Four fleeing militants were killed in Panjgur, while four who were hiding elsewhere were killed in a Saturday operation when they refused to surrender, the military said.
It said three other militants linked to the attacks were killed in the district of Kech on Friday. Five soldiers were martyred and six others wounded in follow-up operations.
A spokesman for the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), a militant group that operates under the umbrella of the BNA, said its Panjgur and Nushki offensive came to an end after more than 70 hours.
“After the ‘martyrdom’ of all sixteen suicide-attackers of the Majeed Brigade of the Baloch Liberation Army, Operation Gunjal reached its conclusion,” said Jaend Baloch, the purported spokesman, in a message to reporters on WhatsApp.
Baloch said nine of the men attacked the Frontier Corps camp in Nushki and six stormed into the Panjgur camp.
