• Visit comes amid rising terrorism in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan.
• Quetta moot also attended by PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari.
• CM Balochistan briefs meeting on province’s law and order situation.

Amid escalating security tensions in Balochistan, President Asif Ali Zardari on Wednesday, during a visit to Quetta, stressed the urgency of decisively winning the “war against terrorism” at all costs.

The visit comes amid rising terrorism in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan. Chairing a meeting on the law and order situation in Balochistan, the president underscored the threat posed by terrorists seeking to divide the nation.

The meeting was attended by Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Acting Governor of Balochistan Captain (retd) Abdul Khaliq Achakzai, Chief Secretary Balochistan Shakeel Qadir Khan, Inspector General of Police Moazzam Jah Ansari, and other senior officials.

Chief Minister Balochistan Mir Sarfraz Bugti briefed the meeting on the province’s law and order situation. 

“The situation is clear — the state will continue to exist, and we must win the war against terrorism,” the president remarked.

Announcing that the government would equip the anti-terrorism wing with the latest weapons, President Zardari reaffirmed that Balochistan was close to their hearts and emphasised the commitment to its development and lasting peace.

The president said the government aimed to ensure every child in Balochistan was enrolled in school. “It is imperative to make children aware of modern technology,” President Zardari added.

Last week, Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) militants sabotaged train tracks and hijacked the Jaffar Express, holding over 440 passengers hostage for a day-long standoff with security forces in Bolan’s remote mountains.

The military, after clearing the train and rescuing hostages, said it killed 33 attackers. Before the operation began, terrorists had martyred 26 passengers, while four security personnel were martyred during the operation.

The martyred train passengers included 18 security personnel from the army and the FC, three officials from Pakistan Railways and other departments and five civilians.

And on Sunday, at least five paramilitaries were martyred in a vehicle-borne suicide attack. The assaults were claimed by the BLA, one of a number of separatist groups operating in Balochistan near the borders with Afghanistan and Iran.

‘A war for the existence of future generations’

A day earlier, Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) General Asim Munir emphasised the need for better governance and transforming Pakistan into a “hard state,” questioning for how long the nation would continue to make innumerable sacrifices in the name of a “soft state.”

Addressing an in-camera meeting of the Parliamentary Committee on National Security, the army chief said that the ongoing struggle was a war for the existence of present and future generations.

The committee meeting, chaired by National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, was attended by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, members of the parliamentary committee, political leaders, the Army Chief, director generals of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), Military Intelligence (MI), Intelligence Bureau (IB), key federal ministers and senior officials from the military and intelligence agencies.

Notably, the leadership of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Mahmood Khan Achakzai and Akhtar Mengal opted to stay away from the meeting, which was convened on the prime minister’s advice following the terrorist attack on the Jaffar Express.

General Asim Munir called for all elements of national strength to act in complete harmony for the country’s stability, stating that no agenda, movement or personality was more important than national security.

“There is no agenda, movement or personality bigger and more important than national security. All elements of national strength must act with complete harmony for the country’s lasting stability,” the COAS said.