Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif responds to Bannu hostage crisis and recent terrorist activities

Finia Hilmes

Pakistan & Human Rights Researcher

Global Human Rights Defence

On Wednesday, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif categorically rejected the idea of the State bowing before any terrorist group and promised to stop the outrageous designs of the militants in the country (Web Desk, 2022).

The Prime Minister’s statement came in condemnation of the Bannu hostage crisis and other recent terrorist activities throughout the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (Web Desk, 2022). The Bannu hostage crisis refers to a hostage crisis that occurred on December 18, 2022, when terrorists of the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) gained control of the Counter-Terrorism Department’s (CTD) compound taking several security personnel hostages (Web Desk, 2022). Eventually, the security forces cleared the facility in an operation on December 20, 2022, in which 25 terrorists were killed (Web Desk, 2022).

Sharif categorized terrorism as a sensitive issue of national security and stated that a joint approach, as well as well strategy, is required to deal with it (Web Desk, 2022).  Furthermore, the Prime Minister emphasised that the government would address the external facilitation of terrorists who disseminate and support it within Pakistan (Web Desk, 2022).

Moreover, the Prime Minister stated that the main responsibility of peace lies with the provinces even though the government cannot ignore these issues (Web Desk, 2022). Therefore, he added that the federal government will work with the provinces to fight against terrorism (Web Desk, 2022). He emphasised that to end terrorism, it is essential to increase the capacity as well as the efficiency of the provincial governments and in order to do so the federal government will assist in improving the professional capacity of CTDs throughout the provinces (Web Desk, 2022). Finally, specifically addressing the provincial government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the Prime Minister stated the federal government would help restructure the provincial government’s CTD and provide it with all facilities including modern weapons (Web Desk, 2022).

Sources and further reading: 

  Web Desk. (2022, December 21). State won’t bow down to any terrorist group: PM Shehbaz. The News International. Retrieved December 21, 2022, from https://www.thenews.com.pk/latest/1022260-state-wont-bow-down-to-any-terrorist-group-pm-shehbaz-sharif. 

Wazir, D. (2022, December 21). Militants storm Wana police station in South Waziristan, flee with weapons. DAWN.COM. Retrieved December 21, 2022, from https://www.dawn.com/news/1727460/militants-storm-wana-police-station-in-south-waziristan-flee-with-weapons. 

Marwat, G. M., & Khan, I. A. (2022, December 21). 25 militants killed as forces secure CTD compound in Bannu. DAWN.COM. Retrieved December 21, 2022, from https://www.dawn.com/news/1727467/25-militants-killed-as-forces-secure-ctd-compound-in-bannu.