Pakistan plans to launch a new nationwide operation to root out Islamist militants, the national security committee said on Friday.

One analyst said the operation would also serve as a pretext for the government to delay provincial elections it had been under pressure to hold next month.

The NSC “agreed to launch an all-out comprehensive operation with the entire nation and the government, which will rid the country of the menace of terrorism with renewed vigor and determination,” a statement said.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif chaired the meeting, which was also attended by top military and civilian leaders.

41st meeting of the National Security Committee held at the Prime Minister House.

The federal ministers, Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, services chiefs and high-ranking officers of the departments concerned attended the meeting, which was a continuation of the meeting held after the terrorist attack on the Peshawar Police Lines on January 2, 2023.

At the start of the meeting, the participants paid tribute to those who were martyred in the Gayari sector tragedy on April 7, 2012.

Emphasizing comprehensive national security, it was declared that relief to the people was of central importance. The forum was told that the government was taking measures in this connection.

The meeting acknowledged the sacrifices and efforts of the security forces for ensuring permanent peace for the nation.
The forum reiterated the resolve to continue operation till the eradication of terrorism from Pakistan.

The last time a major operation was launched against Islamist militants was in 2014, and it cost the country billions of dollars and resulted over a million people being displaced and hundreds being killed.

However, Pakistan has seen a rise in attacks by militants in the last few months, particularly since negotiations with the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) broke down last year.

This year, the group and its factions have unleashed a wave of attacks including a suicide bombing at a mosque in the northwestern city of Peshawar that killed over 100 people, mostly policemen.

Friday’s meeting meanwhile was summoned by Sharif a day after he and his allies held a parliamentary vote to reject a Supreme Court order to hold provincial polls next month.

The government has maintained that the worsening security situation means the provincial elections would have to be delayed.