KHARIAN: Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan has said that the country is not only facing an external danger but also a threat from “hidden enemies that are spreading chaos in the name of Islam”.
“Our armed forces are dedicated to the noble cause of defence of the motherland,” said the minister during his visit to the National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC) to witness the graduation ceremony of the 9th National Integrated Counter Terrorism Course.
In his speech, Nisar said that the war against terrorism was difficult but Pakistan had gained numerous achievements because of sincere efforts and sacrifices rendered by army, police and intelligence agencies. “We have to take forward these achievements,” he added.
The minister said that war on terror gains – “achieved through efforts of armed forces” – were an example for the entire world. “The nation is proud of armed forces and those who sacrificed their precious lives for the defence of the country,” he said, adding, “We can never forget sacrifices of our martyrs who laid down their lives to bring peace in Pakistan.”
He lauded professional capabilities of those who completed their training at the NCTC, and said that they had been assigned a noble task of defending the motherland. A total of 388 individuals of Frontier Corps (FC), police, Rangers and other law enforcing agencies graduated through the batch.
The minister also witnessed a demonstration given by trained personnel to effectively deal with terrorism.
Since setting up of the NCTC, over 235,000 individuals, including international military troops from different countries, have been trained by the Pakistan Army.
According to sources, the training was organised on the directives of Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa which shall continue to enhance operational efficiency of police and other law enforcement agencies.
Earlier, upon his arrival, Central Command Commander Lieutenant General Umar Farooq Durrani and Training and Evaluation Inspector General Lt General Hadayatur Rahman welcomed the minister. The minister was briefed about the standard of the training being imparted to improve performance of security personnel.
Earlier on February 3, the interior minister, urging the West to honour its commitments and agreements, said terrorism could not be linked to any religion.
The minister was referring to a summit held in Washington on ‘countering violent extremism’ in February 2015, and recalled that over 60 countries participating in the moot agreed upon the need to delink terrorism from religion.
“The tendency to label every man with a beard and every woman wearing hijab as potential terrorists should stop now,” the interior minister had emphasised.
“To win the war against terrorism, there has to be an international coalition, but this coalition should be based on mutual and greater understanding of regional dynamics and regional compulsions,” he added.
