ISLAMABAD: Although the government and the military continued to discuss matters behind closed doors, government officials took pains on Tuesday to argue that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had made up his mind to take the battle to the TTP stronghold in North Waziristan Agency (NWA).
“More than one option is being considered for going into NWA; it’s just a matter of time now,” a government official privy to the development told Dawn.
He added that the military planning would take time, but the ball had been set rolling by the PML-N government in meetings between the prime minister and the army chief over the past week or so.
Asked about the ambiguity that seemed to define the PML-N’s stance vis-à-vis the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan, the official claimed that the government genuinely wanted talks with militants, but the back-to-back attacks on civilians and military personnel had forced a rethink.
“The government is left with no other option but to use force.”
Dawn has learnt that Mr Sharif gave a go-ahead for the use of force at a Jan 24 meeting, which was attended by civilians as well as military officials. They included Chief of the Army Staff Gen Raheel Sharif, ISI DG Lt Gen Zaheer-ul-Islam, Chief of General Staff Lt Gen Ashfaq Nadeem, DGMO Maj Gen Amir Riaz, DG MI Maj Gen Sarfaraz Sattar, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif, Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, Information Minister Senator Pervez Rasheed, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar and Special Assistant to the Prime Minister Tariq Fatemi.
The high-profile huddle had taken place after the Bannu and Rawalpindi attacks on security personnel.
“More than one option is being considered for going into NWA; it’s just a matter of time now,” a government official privy to the development told Dawn.
He added that the military planning would take time, but the ball had been set rolling by the PML-N government in meetings between the prime minister and the army chief over the past week or so.
Asked about the ambiguity that seemed to define the PML-N’s stance vis-à-vis the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan, the official claimed that the government genuinely wanted talks with militants, but the back-to-back attacks on civilians and military personnel had forced a rethink.
“The government is left with no other option but to use force.”
Dawn has learnt that Mr Sharif gave a go-ahead for the use of force at a Jan 24 meeting, which was attended by civilians as well as military officials. They included Chief of the Army Staff Gen Raheel Sharif, ISI DG Lt Gen Zaheer-ul-Islam, Chief of General Staff Lt Gen Ashfaq Nadeem, DGMO Maj Gen Amir Riaz, DG MI Maj Gen Sarfaraz Sattar, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif, Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, Information Minister Senator Pervez Rasheed, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar and Special Assistant to the Prime Minister Tariq Fatemi.
The high-profile huddle had taken place after the Bannu and Rawalpindi attacks on security personnel.
Related tags:
Latest news, world news, current affairs, breaking news, arab
country news, daily news, Islamic news, india news, Pakistan news, , india Pakistan
news, current news, news headlines, Latest World News,Articles,
Latest news, latest urdu news, world news, current affairs,
breaking news, arab country news, sport news, cricket news, daily news, Islamic
news, india news, Pakistan news, india Pakistan news, current news,Current
affairs, Economic Affairs,Islam and Human Rights, Islam and Politics , Islam
and the West, Muslim Media, Islamic Society, Islamic World,Latest World
News, breaking news ,Top Breaking News, Current Affairs, daily news, recent
news, news headlines
No comments:
Post a Comment