Pakistan Ex-Servicemen Association supports Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s decision to pay terrorists back in their own coin

Rawalpindi, January 25, 2014 (PPI-OT): The Pakistan Ex-servicemen Association (PESA) on Friday expressed its full support to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif decision to pay terrorists back in their own coin. The decision shows that the Federal Government, teetering between talks and military operation for long, has chosen to exert writ of the state and talk from a position of strength, this was observed in a meeting of PESA chaired by its President Lt. Gen Ali Kuli Khan (Retd).

Vice Admiral Ahmad Tasnim, Air Marshal Masood Akhtar, Lt Gen Naeem Akbar, Ambassador Salim Nawaz Gandapur, Brig Mian Mahmud, Brig Syed Masud ul Hassan and others were also present on the occasion. The meeting noticed that terrorists have become more ruthless and barbaric while attacking schools, places of worships, funerals, markets and security agencies etc. at will.

It was need of the hour to adopt a stern policy towards these elements because their activities have reached new heights and is taking heavy toll of lives, civilian as well as military, the former military strategists said. It has been shocking and unfortunate that some of our self-proclaimed peace lovers say nothing against the terrorists but lose no time to criticize military actions against leading militant commanders, they added.

The situation calls for comprehensive policies for national security and counter-terrorism which must have total mass support. PESA has carried out detailed study and suggested sets of such policies. A presentation of which was given to Mian Nawaz Sharif and some other prominent leaders of PML-N in 2011.

PESA members said that they consider the war as ours now because the enemy is striking against lives of the people and our national values. Secondly, the aim and purpose of this war is to counter the challenges to our national identity, threats to our people’s right to democracy, freedom, equality, tolerance and social justice as per Article 4 of the Objectives Resolution.

Our strategy should be to shape the environment rather than destroy all the non-state actors. It includes amnesty for those who give up terrorist activities. Additional incentives could be rewards or jobs for them. And the dialogue must be from a position of strength.

The suggested policies include political ends that are acceptable to the people and assigns responsibilities to various ministries and other stake holders. Foreign ministry has the most important task of convincing our friends that we want peace at home and peace abroad. They must, therefore, help us achieve these goals.PESA offers its services to the government to develop National Security and Counter-Insurgency/ Terrorism policies.

For more information, Contact:
Pakistan Ex-Servicemen Association
29, Khurshid Alam Road,
Westridge 1,
Rawalpindi
Phone: 0515477651, 0515477652, 0515477653
Mobile: 03008550180, 03008541133
Fax: 0515477649