Counter-terrorism flaws need to be removed: Sharif
By ANISaturday, June 5, 2010
LAHORE - Emphasizing that terrorists have neither religion nor state, former Pakistan Prime Minister and chief of the Pakistan Muslim League - Nawaz (PML-N), Nawaz Sharif, on Saturday said flaws in conter-terrorism strategy needed to be removed to be effective.
Giving his views days after Shia suicide bombers attacked two mosques in the city and killed over 80 minority Sunni worshippers, Sharif said: “Terrorists have neither religion nor state. Nation and institutions are united in war against terrorism.”
He further said that the Ahmedis were also citizens of Pakistan.
Sharif’s views on the attack came a day after people of the Ahmedi sect expressed dismay over the Punjab government’s lackadaisical steps to protect marginalized sections of the society.
Amazingly, the provincial authorities were reported to be busy facilitating the demands of the terror mongers.
According to reports, one of the injured terrorists was allowed to use his cell phone in the hospital and the authorities even arranged a meeting between him and his family members.
The Ahmedis have severely criticised the provincial government for failing to act tough against the militants who were nabbed after murdering innocent people.
“Several terrorist attacks have been seen in the past, but none of the terrorists were treated so lovingly… none were allowed to communicate with their fellows, who then attempt to free him and manage to safely escape… God knows what they had wanted to achieve and the worst part is that they are still at large,” The Daily Times quoted Munawar Ali Shahid, a spokesman for the Ahmedi sect, as saying.
“The only option that an Ahmedi has is either to leave the country or be killed at the hands of a terrorist,” Shahid added. (ANI)
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June 7, 2010: 2:40 pm
It is fact that the government of Punjab has shown so far lack of interest in combating the terrorism holds water. Every month, terrorists pour into Lahore, the capital of Punjab and kill at will mercilessly. All the terrorists attacks in Lahore have something in common.Terrorists belong to the South of Punjab, They belong to some banned outfit, They got their training somewhere near Miranshah and finally They had some inside help from Lahore. The pattern is there. We know our enemy, and we know where it is, and we have the manpower and resources to tackle them. Why is it so hard for Shahbaz Sharif to do that? After so many years of military action and expenditure of tens of billions of dollars things appear to have only become worse. I just ask can Shahbaz Sharif pull it off in the Southern Punjab? This is the question, which is going to decide the result of this whole war against terror, and believe it or not, this is the key to this whole bloody affair. |
 Nadia Khalil |
June 6, 2010: 9:52 am
The only major political party that is categorically opposed to the Taliban and other militant groups and their violent activities is the PPP. The major problem is in the province of Punjab because the ruling PML-N maintains an ambiguous position on Islamic militancy and the Taliban. Its leadership condemns terrorist attacks but avoids criticising any specific militant group, including the Taliban and al Qaeda. The PML-N has several leaders in its senior cadre that share the Jamaat-e-Islami perspective on terrorism. This absence of unity of mind in the PML-N provides enough space for militancy to sustain itself in the province. Nawaz Sharif has avoided giving a straight line on terrorism in order to accommodate differences of opinion in the party and to sustain its electoral support among the Islamists and the political right, making the PML-N announce some compensation for the victims of the incident only belatedly and seemingly reluctantly. |
sabiha