General Asim Munir, the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), stated on Saturday that terrorists lack any underlying religious or ideological beliefs and only hold misguided beliefs that they have been forced to hold through coercion or inducement.
According to Inter-Services Public Relations, the army chief made these comments while visiting the city, where he had come to visit those who had been hurt in the attack on the Karachi Police Office (KPO) on Friday night. Terrorists stormed the heavily guarded law enforcement facility at Sharea Faisal, Karachi’s main thoroughfare, killing four people—two police officers and a ranger—while injuring 18 others.
“Contrary to political and other distractions being faced by the public, the security forces remain singularly focused on CT [counter terrorism] and intelligence-based operations (IBOs) which are being conducted all over the country with pronounced success,” the army chief said as he met the injured soldiers of police and Pakistan Rangers Sindh at the Jinnah Post Graduate Medical Centre (JPMC).
General Munir, who arrived with Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah and was welcomed by Commander Karachi Corps, praised the bravery, morale, and selflessness displayed by the army, police, and Rangers while performing their duties.
“No nation can overcome such challenges with kinetic actions only. It needs mutual trust, the will of the people and synergy between all stakeholders. Pakistanis have always rejected and defeated terrorism and extremism in all its manifestations,” COAS said while hoping for a united nation to prevail upon the menace of terrorism for a “shared prosperous future”.
Later, at Corps Headquarters, the military chief and CM Murad received a briefing on the KPO incident. The two went to the attack site as well. It was cleared last night after a well-executed CT operation involving the Pakistan Army Special Service Group (SSG), Pakistan Rangers Sindh, and Sindh Police, with the goal of “sending all terrorists to hell.” The chief minister of Sindh, who spoke at the event as well, said that the state recognizes and salutes the countless sacrifices made by law enforcement organizations and the country’s unwavering resolve against terrorism.
