ISLAMABAD(National times)- President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif on Friday jointly praised Pakistan\u2019s security forces for a successful counter-terrorism operation in Tank, hailing the action as a major blow to militants they say were operating with Indian support and pledging to continue efforts to eradicate the menace of terrorism from the country. President Zardari, in a separate statement issued by the Presidency, commended the professionalism and bravery of security personnel involved in the Tank operation and reaffirmed his full support for the government\u2019s counter-terrorism campaign, naming it \u201cOperation \u2018Azm-e-Istihkam\u2019.\u201d The president described terrorism as a scourge whose elimination requires the nation\u2019s full backing of the security forces and vowed that the sacrifices made for Pakistan\u2019s peace and stability \u201cwill not go in vain.\u201d Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, in a separate statement from the Prime Minister\u2019s Office, congratulated the security forces for their \u201cprofessional skill\u201d in the operation in Tank, which resulted in the killing of eight foreign militants described as being supported by India. The Prime Minister said the government was determined to uproot the menace of terrorism from the country, and vowed to smash the sinister designs of those who seek to damage Pakistan\u2019s territorial integrity. Both the dignitaries emphasized the state\u2019s resolve to continue sustained operations against terrorist networks and reaffirmed that the nation stands shoulder-to-shoulder with its security institutions until the threat is eliminated.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
ISLAMABAD(National times)- President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif on Friday jointly praised Pakistan\u2019s security forces for a successful counter-terrorism operation in Tank, hailing the action as a major blow to militants they say were operating with Indian support and pledging to continue efforts to eradicate the menace of terrorism from the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":114525,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-114524","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-national","entry"],"yoast_head":"\n