The National Security Committee (NSC), Pakistan’s apex body on national security, has decided to launch a comprehensive operation against terrorists, as the country’s civil and military leadership virtually issued a charge sheet against the previous government for allowing the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) to regroup. The huddle chaired by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif was attended by services chiefs and top intelligence officials as well as senior cabinet ministers. Although there was no explicit mention of the current political tensions in the country, the NSC acknowledged the deterioration in the security situation. The highlight of the meeting was the decision to launch an all-out operation against terrorist outfits. It is for the first time Pakistan is going to launch another offensive against terrorism since 2016. The NSC linked the surge in terrorism with the previous dispensation’s policy of appeasement towards the TTP. “Not only were the militants allowed to return without hindrance, but hardcore TTP terrorists were also released from jails in the name of confidence building,” the NSC noted in a reference to the Imran Khan-led PTI government’s decision to seek a peace deal with the TTP, reports The Express Tribune.
