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ISLAMABAD, Jan. 31 (PTI) Pakistan’s defense minister on Tuesday urged all political forces in the country to unite against terrorists who are not targeting a sect or a particular class of society but the entire country.
The statement came a day after the death toll rose to 100 in a horrific suicide bombing at a Peshawar mosque, which drew comparisons to a 2014 school bombing that killed around 150 people. Most of them are students.
Khawaja Asif was asked by reporters outside the parliament building about the possibility of any new action against the militants.
He said the high-level National Security Council (NSC) would decide to launch a military operation to eliminate the militants.
“It’s a decision that the National Security Council will make. Such things can be decided in a forum that can make such big decisions, like the National Security Council,” he said.
Later in a speech in parliament, he urged all political forces to unite in the fight against terrorists who target an entire country rather than a sect or a particular class of society.
“There is a need for a consensus like (in) the Zarb-e-Azb operation against this kind of terrorism. Hopefully the prime minister will take a step in this direction,” the defense minister said.
Zarb-e-Azb was launched after the school bombing that killed and dislodged the militants Asif said the latest bombing in Peshawar was as tragic as the Army public school massacre in 2014, with politicians from all sides A similar consensus is required.
He also said that Pakistan had suffered more than $126 billion in economic losses and 83,000 deaths, including militants, police officials and others, but the world did not acknowledge this.
He accused Imran Khan’s previous government of holding talks with the Taliban.
“Two years ago, we were told that we could talk to these people (terrorists). Later, they were allowed to settle in the country,” he said.
He questioned who was responsible for the bloodshed in Peshawar that left 100 dead.
He also said that more than 450,000 Afghans who settled in Pakistan because they did not return to their country have now engaged in transport business in Pakistan.
Separately, Home Affairs Minister Rana Sanaullah addressed Parliament, saying that Parliament will develop a policy to address the threat of terrorism.
The Army chief of staff and the chief of the Inter-Services Intelligence will brief lawmakers, he said.
He also said past policies were to blame for the terrorism that plagued the country. “We created the mujahideen, but they turned into terrorists,” he said, referring to the Afghan jihad against the former Soviet Union.
Sanaullah detailed the Peshawar terror attack, saying a suicide bomber blew himself up at a mosque, killing 100 people, including 97 police officers and three civilians.
He expressed concern that the death toll would rise because 27 of the 216 injured were in critical condition. He said the rescue operation had been completed.
The Khurasani group of the Taliban claimed responsibility for the incident, the minister said. He also made it clear that these terrorist incidents were directed against Pakistan and not against any region or province of the country.
(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from a Syndicated News feed, the content body may not have been modified or edited by LatestLY staff)
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