ISLAMABAD: The government told the National Assembly on Thursday that Pakistan’s armed forces would not lower their guard against terrorism and would continue their “high alert” despite a new move for dialogue with Taliban militants.

The assurance came at the end of a prolonged debate on the country’s law and order situation from Minister of State for Interior Mohammad Balighur Rehman who said Wednesday’s announcement in the house by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif giving the militants “another chance” to a peaceful settlement did not mean that “our forces will become negligent of their mission” and “move back”.

“That will not happen” and the forces would maintain their “high alert”, he said, apparently to allay fears of critics of the prime minister’s surprise decision that the Taliban, who rejected an earlier government offer for talks and continued their deadly attacks against both civilians and soldiers but made their own offer of talks last week, would rather buy time to regroup after some recent retaliatory air force battering in their main bastion of North Waziristan tribal area.

Mr Rehman, who wound up the debate that continued from the previous session last month, reiterated the oft-stated government argument that its previous peace move, mandated by a Sept 9 “all-party conference”, was frustrated by a Nov 1 US drone strike that killed the-then Taliban chief Hakeemullah Mehsud at his compound in North Waziristan just before a delegation of unidentified mediators was about to fly to the area.

He also seemed to be countering reservations expressed in some media reports about the affiliations of the four members of a new committee named by the prime minister to “carry the dialogue process forward”, calling it a “neutral committee” that, he said, enjoyed the confidence of all political parties supporting the new move. Contrary to the flourish that accompanied the prime minister’s presence in the house on Wednesday after an unexplained absence of more than seven months and his surprise move, Thursday’s poorly-attended sitting while the prime minister had left for a visit to Balochistan province was marked with some critical analysis.

From the main opposition Pakistan Peoples Party, Ms Nafisa Shah wondered whether the formation of the committee, three of whose members, she said, voiced different views soon after being named, would mean a further dithering in tackling terrorism and called for following a “multi-pronged policy” as, she said, was done by the previous PPP-led government while ordering a military operation in 2009 that defeated a Taliban insurgency in the Malakand division of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

Qaumi Watan Party leader Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao, a former chief minister of the Taliban-plagued province, drew attention to what he called disillusionment and fear among people there and demanded that government set a timeframe and “red lines” for the process, though he pledged his party’s support for the new move and for “any right step” the government might take.

Balochistan National Party lawmaker Sayed Essa Nori created some stir in the house with a sentimental speech alleging kidnapping and killings of Baloch youths by security agencies and demanded that the prime minister form a similar committee for a dialogue with Baloch dissidents who, he said, only wanted control over their province’s resources unlike “those who want to change your shapes”.

During the debate, the controversial Protection of Pakistan Ordinance, which, along with a recently issued amending ordinance, gives law-enforcement agencies powers to shoot suspected terrorists at sight as well as to detain suspects for up to 90 days without trial, came under fire from opposition benches, but was defended by the minister of state as one of the most-needed legislation to counter terrorism along with two other ordinances issued to further strengthen anti-money laundering and anti-terrorism laws.

He claimed an improved performance of law-enforcement agencies and decrease in crime rate in the country during 2013 compared with 2012, and particularly during the last six months under the present government, and said the situation would be much better with the implementation of a yet to be announced internal security policy.