Says his remark about Rangers annoyed KP Police; Hepatitis Hospital named after slain traders leader Haleem Jan
PESHAWAR: Linking restoration of peace in Khyber Pakhtunkwha with stability in Afghanistan, Chief Minister Pervez Khattak saidon Fridaythat terrorism is an international issue and can be tackled through courage and collective struggle.
The chief minister also held the Afghan refugees responsible for the poor law and order situation in the province and asked the federal government to expedite their repatriation to Afghanistan.
He was talking to the media after attending a condolence reference arranged to pay homage to veteran traders’ leader Haji Muhammad Haleem Jan at Nishtarabad.
Pervez Khattak once again referred to his demand for deployment of Rangers in border areas of the province. He pointed that his demand for the Rangers’ deployment even annoyed the police high-ups in the province.
However, he did not elaborate as to how the police authorities expressed annoyance to the chief minister on his request to the federal government to deploy the Rangers in the province.Speaking at the condolence reference earlier, the chief minister lauded the contribution of Haleem Jan for the community and said his sacrifices would always be remembered.
Commenting on the need for restoration of peace in the province, he said Khyber Pakhtunkhwa had been facing the challenge of terrorism for the last couple of years.Pervez Khattak said that instead of losing heart there was a dire need to jointly combat terrorism. He said systematic steps were being taken to curb terrorism. “The armed forces are committed and are ready to go to any extent to fight terrorism,” he added.
The chief minister said peace was essential in Afghanistan for bringing stability to the entire region. He said that on the demand of traders the provincial government had asked the federal government to give back the Frontier Constabulary platoons to the province.
He said the Afghan ambassador had been categorically asked for ensuring registration of Afghan refugees in the province and their repatriation to Afghanistan.The chief minister said that dignified repatriation of the Afghan refugees was a must for restoration of durable peace in the province.
He said that funding of terrorists from across the border was the basic cause of terrorism and steps are needed to end the sources of funding. On the demand of the traders, the chief minister announced to name the Hepatitis Hospital as Haleem Jan Hospital.
The chief minister asked the traders to contact the government before giving any call for a strike or protest. He said the provincial government had taken steps to address the grievances of the traders in the past and would do so in future as well.
Provincial Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser, parliamentarians, high-ranking government officers, representatives of the traders and social figures attended the ceremony.
Malik Mehar Illahi, Shaukat Ali Khan, Mujeebur Rehman, Ihtesham Haleem Jan, Haji Asghar and others spoke on the occasion.The speakers paid tributes to Haleem Jan for his services to the business community. Special prayers were offered for the eternal peace of the 77-year old trade leader and a former president of KP Chamber of Commerce and Industry who was gunned down in his shop at Peshawar’s Qissa Khwani bazaar onFebruary 9.
They thanked the chief minister for withdrawing notices issued to about 2,200 shopkeepers, announcing Tamgha-e-Shujaat for Haji Haleem Jan and naming Hepatitis Hospital as Haji Haleem Jan Hospital.
The traders’ representatives said they had called off the strike on persuasion by the provincial government. They demanded the federal and provincial governments to take steps for resolving the issue of continued stay of the Afghan refugees in Pakistan.