Pakistan in the war against terrorism, the chief minister said that besides energy crisis, Pakistan was also facing the challenge of terrorism and extremism. He said that officers and jawans of armed forces, police, common citizens and people of all the segments of the society had rendered supreme sacrifices in the war against terrorism and more than 50,000 Pakistanis had lost their lives in this war. He said the Pak army was achieving glorious successes in the Operation Zarb-e-Azb and political and military leadership as well as the whole nation were united to eliminate the menace of terrorism. He said that besides the use of force, social and economic measures were essential for rooting out terrorism and extremism.
He said the youth were being empowered to curb the trend of terrorism and extremism and a solid strategy had been evolved to impart various skills to lakhs of youth annually in Punjab. He said that thousands of youth had also been imparted skills in accordance with the market needs under the Skill Development Programme which was continuing successfully and its scope was also being extended to the whole province.
The chief minister said that Germany should consider the cooperation with Punjab in various programmes of empowerment of youth. He further said the government was following the policy of peaceful relations with neighbouring countries. He said the effective measures were being taken to eliminate child labour from the province and a target of six months had been given for eliminating child labour from brick kilns. He further said that all the citizens of the country had equal rights and besides Christians, members of other communities living in Pakistan were also very patriotic. He said the Christian community had played a commendable role in the progress and prosperity of the country, especially in education, health and other social sectors.
He said the Social Protection Authority had been set up in the province to remove economic disparity.
Chairperson of German delegation Dagmar G. Wohrl said the cooperation with Pakistan, especially Punjab, in skill development and other sectors would be promoted. She said that measures taken for social development in Punjab were commendable. Provincial Ministers Col. (Retd) Shuja Khanzada, Begum Zakia Shahnwaz, Member Provincial Assembly Dr. Ayesha Ghaus Pasha, Chairman Planning and Development, Additional Chief Secretary Energy, secretaries concerned and senior officials were also present.