Criminals won’t be given escape route: Nawaz

KARACHI: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Wednesday said that his government would go to any extent in chasing and eliminating terrorists in any part of the country and criminals will not be given any escape route.
Addressing a ceremony organised by the Karachi Stock Exchange at the PAF Museum Auditorium to give awards to the 25 top performing companies and later chairing a high-level meeting on the Karachi situation, the prime minister said that the targeted operation in Karachi was not against any particular political party but against criminals, adding that soon the city would be completely free of criminal elements.
He said that war launched against terrorism would be taken to its logical conclusion and result in a crushing defeat for the terrorists.
The top-level meeting to review the law and order situation of Sindh with special focus on Karachi was held at the PAF Base Faisal. The meeting was special in the sense that it did not take place at the traditional venue of theSindh Governor Dr Ishratul Ebad, who had featured in such past sessions since the present federal government had come into power, remained absent.
Corps Commander Karachi Lt-Gen Naveed Mukhtar and Director-General Sindh Rangers Major General Bilal Akbar briefed the prime minister on the law and order situation of the province and on the ongoing targeted operation being conducted against criminals and terrorists in Karachi. The operation is being led by Rangers and police.
The prime minister gave special instructions to law enforcement agencies in this regard to take action against the criminal elements across-the-board in a transparent manner.After the briefing, Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah and Chief Secretary Muhammad Siddique Memon also joined him.
During the meeting, Nawaz said that peace in Karachi would be secured at any cost while the targeted operation in the city will continue till elimination of the last terrorist operating in the city.The chief secretary briefed the meeting on theimplementation of the National Action Plan against terrorism in the province.
The meeting took into consideration the issues related to Rangers’ raid on March 11 at the headquarters of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement Nine-Zero Azizabad, related arrests of criminals, recovery of weapons, lodging of criminal cases at different police stations, and pursuing of such cases in trial courts concerned. The meeting also considered the ongoing crackdown of law-enforcement agencies in the province, the overall performance of LEAs, and the newly launched operation by Rangers for removal of barriers and barricades from different parts of Karachi.
The prime minister said on the occasion that the federal government would ensure provision of all possible support and facilities to the LEAs operating in Sindh, especially the agencies conducting the targeted operation in Karachi.
He expressed his satisfaction over a decrease in instances of crime in the city and in this regard appreciated the performance of Sindh chief minister and Rangers.The meeting resolved that the extent of targeted operation in Karachi would be expanded to other parts of the province under a fast-track policy on the basis of relevant intelligence information.
A joint strategy would be adopted in collaboration with concerned governments of other provinces, secret agencies, and LEAs for catching criminals and terrorists who had escaped the ongoing targeted operation in Karachi.
The meeting also resolved that terrorists and criminals would be apprehended and brought to justice in accordance with the law and Constitution irrespective of political and party affiliations of the lawless elements.The meeting decided to improve checking and scanning systems at exit and entry points of Karachi.
The session resolved that investigation and interrogation process with arrested accused criminals and terrorists in Karachi would be accelerated and sped up so that criminal charge-sheets of cases of such accused persons should be submitted in the trial courts concerned at the earliest.
Addressing the Karachi Stock Exchange ceremony, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said targeted operation in Karachi had boosted confidence of the concerned people of the city while the operation had also been helpful in overcoming spate of crimes in the metropolis. He said the restoration of peace was compulsory for revival of the city as being city of lights.
He said that restoration of peace was also compulsory for growth of Karachi as without peace there would be no prosperity. He said that no progress in Karachi meant that there would be no prosperity in the country.
Also present at the ceremony were Sindh Governor Dr Ishratul Ebad Khan, Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah, Federal Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, Karachi Stock Exchange Chairman Muneer Kamal, Board of Investment Chairman Miftah Ismail and Security Exchange Commission of Pakistan Chairman Zafar-ul-Haq Hijazi.
The premier said the Sindh government was fully siding with the federal government for restoration of peace and conducting targeted operation against criminals as both the governments had been working in collaboration with each other for development and peace in the city. He said the federal government would provide utmost support for resolution of problems in Karachi.
He said the targeted operation in Karachi had been launched by the government in September 2013 for which the Sindh government and all the concerned political parties had been taken into confidence.
He said the continuing operation in Karachi had been reaping positive results with significant decline in instances of target killings, extortion of money, and kidnapping for ransom.The prime minister said on the occasion that his government had been tackling the problem of terrorism in the desired daring way with the clear notion in mind that progress could not be achieved till elimination of terrorism.
He said his government had first exercised the option of dialogue to resolve the issue of terrorism, and, after failure of the peaceful option, the government finally resorted to exercising the option of operation against terrorists.
He said the launching of military operation Zarb-e-Azb had led to smashing the networks and infrastructure of terrorists as the militants had been on the run with no place being found by them in the entire country to take refuge for survival. He said that his government had the resolve to eliminate terrorists regardless of their place of hiding in any portion of the four provinces.
He said the government had been taking due action against illegal armed militia present in the country. Nawaz Sharif said that his government had been working with the resolve to get the country free of menace of terrorism for which the 20-point National Action Plan had been devised.
He said the four provincial governments in the country had been duly observing the National Action Plan.Nawaz said the federal government had consulted all the concerned political parties before adopting the strategy for tackling problem of terrorism as such process of consultation on the subject would continue in future as well.
He said that war against terrorism would be taken to its logical conclusion as it had caused death of thousands of people, while the country had to bear losses of billions of dollars. He said the elements who had imposed this war on the country would be entirely defeated.
Talking about energy crisis in the country, the prime minister said his government is implementing a long-term policy spanning over 25 years for resolving energy and water issues. He said the present government wanted resolution of the issues of energy and natural resources through long- and short-term policies.
He said the government had been working at a time to tap the resource of wind, solar, hydal, coal, and liquefied natural gas for production of electricity in abundance. He said the government would soon able to make available additional 15,000 to 17,000 megawatts using different resources.
He said the import of LNG would be used for overcoming shortage of natural gas in the country.For resolution of the water issue, large water reservoirs are being constructed by the government including Diamer-Bhasha, Dasu, and Bunji dams. He said that these large dams would not only be used for water storage but also for cultivation of barren farm lands, which would give way to development of agriculture.
He said the ample availability of gas and electricity in the country would give way to improvement of national economy and provision of job opportunities. He said that his government had started developing Karachi-Hyderabad Motorway, which would be developed later till Lahore. He said the government had also started working on Hazara Motorway.
He said that best economic policies being practised by his government had led to improvement of economic indicators of the country, which spoke volumes about performance of the present government.
Nawaz Sharif said that his government wanted friendly relations with all the neighbouring countries as this desire had led to improvement of relations with Afghanistan and India as such regional relations should be further improved. He said that improvement of relations with Afghanistan would lead to stability and peace in the region.