Will not rest until terrorism is eliminated: PM Nawaz Sharif

QUETTA: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Wednesday said that the time had come to eliminate the menace of terrorism from Pakistan once and for all.

“It is time to end this menace, and this is why we announced an all-out war against terrorism. We have formed a 20-point agenda to end this menace. Inshallah, we will not rest until terrorism is completely eliminated,” he said.

The prime minister strongly condemned the terrorist attack at the Qasr-e-Sakina Imambargah in Islamabad, and extended his condolences to the families of those who lost their lives.

Refering to recent terrorist attacks in the country, Sharif said that this was a sign that the terorists were losing strength.

“This is a signal that they (the terrorists) are trying to mount a final attack, but we know how much force they have left in them,” he said.

The prime minister is currently on a two-day official visit to Quetta to chair a meeting of the Balochistan Apex Committee formed under the National Action Plan to combat terrorism.

PM urges provinces to implement decisions taken under NAP

During the apex committee meeting, Sharif urged provinces to implement decisions taken under the National Action Plan speedily to rid the country of extremism and terrorism.

Chairing a meeting of Balochistan Apex Committee at the Governor House here at the provincial capital, he said the objective of the meeting was to review the progress on NAP and see if there was any problem or impediment hindering their implementation.

He assured that the government along with the Pakistan Army would ensure that the problem areas and obstacles if any in implementing the decisions be removed.

The apex committee meeting was attended by Chief Minister Balochistan Dr Abdul Malik, Governor Mohammad Khan Achakzai, Chief of Army Staff General Raheel Sharif Defence Minister Khawaja Asif, Railways Minister Khawaja Saad Rafiq, Minister of State for Petroleum Jam Kamal, former Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali, Commander Southern Command Lieutenant General Nasser Khan Janjua, Senior Minister and PML-N President Sardar Sanaullah Zehri.

Sharif directed that all cases of death penalty in which mercy petitions had been rejected should be proceeded further for execution.

‘Political, military leadership united to steer country out of challenges’

Speaking at a lunch hosted by Commander Southern Command Lieutenant General Nasser Khan Janjua, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said that political and military leadership were on the same page to steer the country out of current challenges through their joint efforts.

Sharif said that Pakistan had made a new beginning and the leadership was taking steps together to finding solutions to the problems being faced by the country.

The message should be conveyed that the political and military leadership of the country is united to resolve all issues, he said.

“There should be dawn of prosperity and no area of this province should lag behind. There should be no sense of disparity he said and stressed for taking the country forward on the path of development while functioning under the constitution,” he said.