Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif yesterday said Pakistan’s intelligence agencies are working day and night to defeat designs of the country’s enemies.
This comes two days after the country’s restive Balochistan was hit by a major terror attack in which over 70 persons were killed.
Addressing the National Assembly after the carnage at Quetta Civil Hospital, Sharif said Pakistan’s military and political leadership are on the same page to eradicate the menace of terrorism.
He said the mindset behind the Quetta attack was the same one that had targeted Pakistanis in numerous terrorist attacks in the past.
“This incident (Quetta attack) was properly planned,” he said, adding that “such a mindset does not want peace in the country, especially in Balochistan”.
“We will put to rest all these challenges.”
Sharif went on to say that Operation Zarb-e-Azb is a unanimous national agenda that will be completed at all costs.
Earlier in the day, a high level security meeting was held at the Prime Minister House where the National Action Plan was discussed at length.
The meeting was presided over by Nawaz Sharif.
Meanwhile, Pakistan yesterday issued a terror alert, warning that the Pakistani Taliban was planning to strike on the Wagah border with India around the Independence Day ceremonies of the two neighbours.
In a letter, accessed by IANS, Pakistan National Counter Terrorism Authority wrote to Punjab Home Secretary over the possible attack at the Wagah Border between August 13-15.
“Reportedly, Tehreek-e-Taliban, Fazal Ullah group is planning to target parade at Wagah border in Lahore or Ganda Singh Border in Kasur on August 13, 14 or 15,” the letter stated.
It also warned that at least two suicide bombers had been dispatched to carry out the attack.
“Extreme vigilance and heightened security measures are suggested to avoid any untoward incident,” the letter said.
The letter comes as Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif chaired a high level security meeting.
On November 2, 2014, a suicide bombing had taken place at Wagah border following the daily border ceremony in Pakistan.
The attack, which led to dozens of fatalities, was claimed by three militant groups.
Pakistan has already heightened its security at sensitive places across the country following the recent terror attack in Balochistan.
Top military commanders in the country believe the terrorist threat is taking on a brutal shape due to “a growing nexus between hostile actors in the neighbourhood and facilitators within the country”.
At a corps commanders’ conference held at the General Headquarters in Rawalpindi on Tuesday, the generals reviewed the threat perception and discussed measures for countering the security challenges.
Pakistan’s top military commanders say the terrorist threat in the country was because of the growing nexus of hostile actors in Afghanistan, managed by India, and “facilitators” within Pakistan.
At the conference attended by the Pakistani Army chief, General Raheel Sharif, the commanders said the threat was emanating from Afghan soil, which was being managed by Indian intelligence agencies, Dawn online reported.
However, at the same time there was an acknowledgement that a network of “facilitators” within the country provided an enabling environment for the external enemy, an Inter-Service Public Relations statement said.
An upcoming high-level security meeting is expected to take important decisions with regards to future direction of counter-terrorism operations, the statement said.
Gen Sharif told his commanders that the Quetta attack was an attempt to undermine the successes of operation Zarb-e-Azb, which was in its final phase.