KHARIAN: (Parliament Times) President Azad Kashmir Sardar Masood Khan has said that Pakistan has displayed zero tolerance for terrorism. Despite being the main victim of terrorism, Pakistan has achieved enormous success in fighting this menace and has been able to successfully dismantle terrorist sleeper cells and their communication networks, he said.
The AJK President made these remarks during the closing ceremony of the 13th National Integrated Counter Terrorism Course (NICTC) & FC KP Batch-5 held at the National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC), Pabbi. He was the Chief Guest on the occasion. The President was received by Maj. General Ahsanullah, GOC 37 Division, and Brigadier Rizwan Afzal Malik, Commandant NCTC.
On the occasion, President Masood Khan paid rich tribute to the untiring efforts and sacrifices of Pakistan’s Armed Forces and the Law Enforcement Agencies (LEAs) in their fight against terrorism. He added that our security personnel are well trained and motivated to fight this scourge which is threatening our nation’s peace and stability.
The President said that Pakistan has fought terrorism head on and the recent success of Operation Radd-ul-Fasaad is a proof of our states’, Armed Forces’ and LAEs’ resolute commitment and pledge towards disarming and eliminating terrorist networks throughout the country.
This sub-conventional war, he said, should be fought by all; the onus of eliminating terrorism lies on the entire international community, not just Pakistan. Besides, Pakistan seems to be the only country succeeding in the war against terrorism, he said.
President Masood Khan informed his audience that India has launched a three-pronged war against Pakistan. First, Indian occupation forces have imposed a brutal reign of terror on the people of Indian Occupied Kashmir. Second, India is targeting civilians along the Line of Control, knowing well that Pakistan would not retaliate against civilians. Third, India has started a systematic proxy war in Pakistan to destabilize its cities, regions and institutions by engineering, abetting and sponsoring terrorism inside Pakistan, he said.
“Despite all these challenges Pakistan would prevail and emerge as a great nation. The entire nation will collectively fight terrorism and defend the homeland”, he said.
Speaking of the atrocious human right violations taking place in Indian Occupied Kashmir, the President said that India has made the whole of IOK into a mass prison for the innocent Kashmiris. India, he said, is openly murdering young men and women; blinding civilians of all ages; bringing trumped-up charges against Hurriyat leaders; dishonouring women; and altering the demography of occupied Kashmir by reducing the Muslim majority to a minority.
“The planned massacre of Kashmiris at the hands of the Indian forces is synonymous with a genocide and is tantamount to war crimes”, he added.
The President congratulated the successful trainees and commended the Commandant and trainers in helping enhance the capacity of LEAs through quality training at this fully equipped modern facility. He appreciated the fact that the participants had been given advanced instructions in counter-terrorism, low-intensity warfare and hands-on training in handling modern tactical arms and ammunition.
This course also had 10 successful participants from AJK, which included 5 from AJK reserve Force and 5 from AJK Police Rangers.
NCTC was established in 2014 and imparts counter-terrorism training to Armed Forces, as well as Airport Security Force (ASF), Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF), Frontier Corps, Rangers, Frontier Constabulary, Police, Coast Guards and other leading LEAs of the country. The centre also provides similar training to participants of other friendly nations like Saudi Arabia, China, Palestine and others. The President praised the accomplishments of NCTC, which he said in a matter of few years NCTC has achieved national and international recognition helping pave the way for modern anti-terrorism training.
The event was hosted and attended by Maj. General Ahsanullah, GOC 37 Division, Brigadier Rizwan Afzal Malik, Commandant NCTC. Sardar Rashid Naeem, DIG Mirpur AJK Police and other senior officers from the Armed Forces and LEAs were present.
