KARACHI: At the conclusion of an hours long apex committee meeting attended by senior Sindh government officials and the army and intelligence top brass, the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Gen Raheel Sharif vowed to continue "across the board operations" at an increased tempo and hunt down terrorists who commit heinous acts.

Military spokesman Asim Bajwa announced that the meeting had assessed ongoing operations against terrorists, and touched upon directing intelligence agencies to assist in the "exploitation of existing leads" in all operations. Weekly apex committee meetings were also announced.

The high-level huddle also decided to implement effective policing and surveillance in the "vast suburbs of Karachi", to prevent what the ISPR said were "sneaking terrorist attacks".

Bajwa said that all criminals and abettors would be arrested regardless of their political, religious, sectarian, ethnic, or other affiliations.

The spokesman also said a system was being devised for strict checking at all entry and exit points in the country, and that an internal subcommittee would allow for more effective civil-military cooperation in order to increase the efficiency of information-based operations.

Participants of the meeting agreed on the need to extend governance and increase presence of law enforcement agencies in areas of Karachi that are weakly governed spaces, and stressed on the need to investigate channels of funding for terrorists, militants and criminals.

There was also a need to appoint public sector officials transparently and on the basis of merit. An oversight mechanism was recommended for the sustainability of transparency in hiring practices.

The meeting was held a day after the horrific attack on a bus carrying Ismaili community members in which 45 people were killed near Karachi's Safoora Chowrangi.

According to the ISPR statement, the meeting was held to discuss the law and order situation in the country, especially yesterday's massacre on Ismaili community members.

Read: 43 killed in attack on bus carrying Ismailis in Karachi

In the wake of the deadly attack, COAS Gen Raheel Sharif cancelled his visit to Sri Lanka and arrived in Karachi to attend a high-level meeting on the city's security situation chaired by the Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif at Governor House. The COAS stayed overnight in Karachi.

Also read: Security huddle decides to extend Karachi operation to include militant abettors

The apex committee meeting was attended by Sindh Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah, Sindh Governor Dr Ishratul Ibad, Director General Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Lt Gen Rizwan Akhtar, Inspector General (IG) Sindh Ghulam Hyder Jamali, chief secretary Sindh, Dirctorate General of Military Intelligence (DGMI), Director General Military Operations (DGMO) Amir Riaz and the Director General (DG) ISPR Major Gen Asim Bajwa.

Yesterday's meeting at Governor House, which was attended by high-level civil and military officials reviewed the security situation in Karachi.

During the meeting it was decided that the ongoing operation against criminal elements in the city will be sped up, and will be extended to target not only criminal organisations but also their workers and abettors.

The meeting resolved to carry the operation forward with more vigour, intensity and to consolidate the gains that have been made.