Govt committed to eliminating TTP to ensure socio-economic development Pak PM Shehbaz

Islamabad, Jan 3 (PTI) Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Friday the government is committed to eliminating the outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) outfit to ensure the country's socio-economic development.
     Pakistan has recently witnessed an uptick in terror activities, especially in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan.
     Terror attacks have increased since the TTP broke a fragile ceasefire agreement with the government.
     With at least 685 members of security forces losing their lives amid a total of 444 terror attacks, 2024 turned out to be the deadliest year for the civil and military security forces of Pakistan in a decade, Dawn News reported.
     Equally alarming were the cumulative losses of civilians and security personnel with 1,612 fatalities, accounting for over 63 per cent of the total recorded the past year.
     The overall fatalities recorded last year were a record nine-year high, and over 66 per cent more than in 2023. On average, nearly seven lives were lost daily.
     Addressing a meeting of the National Action Plan Apex Committee, Shehbaz said: “The agenda of Pakistan’s progress and prosperity that we discussed yesterday can only be [realised] when all of us not only improve law and order across Pakistan but also the time has come to completely wipe out the TTP.”
     The prime minister stressed that the government, the provinces, and relevant stakeholders should make a comprehensive plan in collaboration with the security forces.
     The premier pointed out that the government was aware that some terrorists were living in the country, especially in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, to disturb the peace.
     He said the government was also aware as to which countries were supporting those terrorists.
     Referring to the weekend’s skirmishes with Afghan forces at the border, he said a “befitting response” was given.
     In July, the government, through an official notification, designated the TTP as Fitna al Khawarij, while mandating all institutions to use the term khariji (outcast) when referring to the perpetrators of terrorist attacks in Pakistan.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)