Daily Times

Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa on Monday said that the full spectrum of threats demanded a comprehensive national response, according to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR).

The army chief was addressing participants of the Second National Security Workshop in Quetta. The workshop was organised by the Southern Command of the Army in collaboration with the Government of Balochistan.

“The army is fully engaged in enabling that response in coordination with other institutions of the state,” said General Bajwa.

He stressed that terrorism had no religion, sect or ethnicity, adding, “Pakistan has fought against this menace indiscriminately and shall root it out through whole of the nation approach.”

The two-week long workshop was aimed at creating an understanding of critical national security issues, capacity building for timely decision making and enabling the participants to comprehend interplay of all elements of national power in the construct of ‘comprehensive national security’.

Members of the National and Balochistan assemblies, media representatives and civil services officers attended the workshop. Southern Command head Lieutenant General Asim Saleem Bajwa also accompanied the COAS.

Later the COAS visited the Corps Headquarters Karachi where he was briefed on the security situation in the province. Speaking on the occasion, General Bajwa lauded the role of Rangers and other law enforcement agencies in restoration of peace in the metropolis.

The army’s media wing said that the COAS received briefing over the security situation in the province. General Bajwa also praised efforts put in by the security institutions to revive economic activities in the city. He directed the authorities concerned to continue efforts so that the success of the operation was maintained.

The operation against criminal elements in Pakistan’s commercial hub was initiated back in September 2013 after the federal cabinet empowered Rangers to lead a targeted advance with the support of police. Since then, Rangers have extended their powers every few months when they expire.

Published in Daily Times, May 8^th 2018.