The NSC meeting held today in Islamabad agreed that the previous government and security establishment were responsible for the surge in terror incidents, according to journalist Kamran Yousaf.
The participants agreed that the Imran Khan-led regime’s policy of appeasing terrorists is behind the new wave of terrorism in the country.
Yousaf said that COAS Asim Munir has also earlier said that the policy of talks, a twice ceasefire, and the release of hardcore militants from jails as a ‘confidence-building’ measure were the causes for the current situation.
In this regard, the analyst added, the meeting basically presented a charge-sheet against the previous regime.
He highlighted that it was for the first time that the military leadership admitted ex-COAS Bajwa and former ISI chief Lt Gen (retd) Faiz Hameed’s hand in the mishandling of the issue.
Military operation
The forum approved launching a fresh operation against terrorists, seven years after the last one. “What new in this one is that in addition to other measures, action will be taken against those who defame state institutions and cause harm to the national interests.”
Stance on elections
According to the analyst, the decision to launch a fresh operation is an endorsement of the ruling party’s stance that the elections cannot take place before October in view of the volatile security situation.
“It very well endorses the government’s point of view that the security and economy aren’t in a state for the polls to be held in May as advised by the top court.”
The government has put up a strong resistance against the apex court’s decision to hold Punjab elections on May 14. Earlier today, PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif and PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto asked CJP Umar Ata Bandial to step down over Tuesday’s verdict wherein the court annulled ECP’s decision to postpone the elections to Oct 8.
