KP CM says NAP implementation,other issues discussed with COAS

NOWSHERA: Chief Minister Pervez Khattak on Friday said that the Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) Raheel Sharif had expressed satisfaction over the implementation of the National Action Plan (NAP) in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Talking to reporters here, he said that he held a meeting with the COAS Raheel Sharif at the Punjab Regiment Centre in Mardan and discussed various issues.He said they agreed to strengthen the intelligence sharing mechanism, increase the number of combing operations and make the Pak-Afghan border management effective.

Pervez Khattak said that the army chief was informed about the measures taken by the provincial government for maintenance of law and order.He said they agreed to make all-out efforts to bring to justice the mastermind and other perpetrators of the militant attacks in district courts in Mardan and the Christian Colony near Warsak Dam. He said the meeting agreed on joint efforts to eliminate the menace of terrorism.

The chief minister said that a high-level investigation had been launched as to how the militants managed to enter a sensitive area near the Warsak Dam. He said that the government had also formed joint investigation teams comprising officers of Inter-Services Intelligence, Military Intelligence, Intelligence Bureau, Special Branch and other intelligence agencies to investigate the attacks.

Pervez Khattak appreciated the quick response of security agencies and police to the attacks, saying law-enforcers risked and laid down their lives to foil the attacks.  “The timely response by the law-enforcers to the attacks minimised the damage,” he added.

Pervez Khattak said it was premature to say whether the attack was planned in another country or internal elements were behind the gruesome assault.He said the meeting also discussed the proposed reforms in the tribal areas and the future of Fata. He said it was agreed to expedite the reforms process to being the tribal areas into the national mainstream.Pervez Khattak said that he had issued directives to make special security arrangements in Mardan to avert such incidents in future.