Islamabad: After ordering a crackdown on terrorists and terror outfits Pakistan said that the decision was not taken “under any pressure.” Speaking at a media briefing Director General (DG) of Pakistan's Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Major General Asif Ghafoor said the decision to implement National Action Plan (NAP) for countering terrorism and extremism was planned in December 2014.

Ghafoor said “All the political parties agreed over National Action Plan (NAP). The actions have not been taken under any pressure as NAP is being implemented since 2014 when there was neither FATF nor Pulwama incident,”. The decision to ban organisations of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terror outfit Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) and its sister organisation Falah-e-Insaniat Foundation (FIF) was taken in January, Ghafoor said.

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However, this statement came a day after Islamabad vowed to take action against all extremist and militant organisations operating in the country under the guidelines regulated by the United Nations. Earlier on Monday, Pakistan's Interior Ministry directed all provincial governments to accelerate action against banned outfits during a high-level meeting chaired by PM Imran Khan to discuss the implementation of the National Action Plan (NAP). After the February 14 attack in Pulwama, in which over 40 CRPF personnel lost their lives, Pakistan is facing immense global pressure to take stern action against terrorists and organizations operating from its soil.

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However, Ghafoor also reiterated that the Pakistani army is fully prepared to respond to any aggression emanating from India and said that the PAF had shot down two Indian jets for their intrusion in Pakistani airspace on February 26, a claim which has been rejected by India.