Pakistan's own war on terrorism

There is finally a consensus now among major political parties that terrorism has to be fought with all resources at the disposal of the Pakistani society in order to maintain its existence. After dilly-dallying over the issue for a fairly long time Mian Nawaz Sharif issued a clear-cut statement on Tuesday.

He said terrorists are the enemies of the country and deserve no quarter. Further that no single party or government being in a position to cope with the situation, a joint stand needs to be taken by all political parties to eradicate the menace. He also said he would cooperate fully with the government in this respect. Chief Minister Punjab issued an equally strong statement saying that terrorism will have to be wiped out to remain alive.

A myth has been advocated that terrorism in Pakistan is the result of the presence of American and NATO forces in Afghanistan and if that county had not been subjected to foreign occupation, Pakistan today would have been terror free. Those holding the view ignore facts. Terrorist groups were on the rampage in Pakistan long before Nine Eleven.