ISLAMABAD: Finance Minister Ishaq Dar met Chief of the Army Staff Gen Raheel Sharif on Wednesday and discussed financial issues relating to some key matters of the National Action Plan against terrorism.

A brief statement issued by the Inter-Services Public Relations said that the meeting, which was held at the General Headquarters, discussed financing matters related to the capacity building for effective Pak-Afghan border management, including raising of new 29 wings of the civil armed forces.

It has been over a month that the army chief publicly vented frustration over the government’s poor progress on the NAP and told a special security meeting at GHQ that the NAP was central to achievements of the army’s objectives and its lack of progress was affecting the consolidation phase of Operation Zarb-i-Azb.

On Aug 15, the prime minister convened a high-level meeting to address the military’s concerns.

He had reviewed the deployment plan of the Special Security Division and 28 civil armed forces wings raised in 2015 and approved the raising of 29 new wings for improved border management and internal security.

He had also formed a NAP implementation committee with National Security Adviser retired Lt Gen Nasser Khan Janjua as its head and the director general military operations, interior secretary, director general of National Counter-Terrorism Authority, chief secretaries, inspectors general of police, home secretaries, additional secretary of PM Office and representatives of intelligence agencies as its members.

Published in Dawn September 22nd, 2016