Political unity needed to overcome challenges: PM

Says govt, army on same page to eradicate terrorism; emphasises passing on relief to common man after reduction in POL prices; discusses Senate polls with Shahbaz
LAHORE: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has said that the political parties will have to be united to grapple with the challenges being faced by the country.
He said that the government and the army were on the same page to eradicate the menace of terrorism from the country.He expressed these views while talking to Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif who called on him at his residence here on Sunday. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Punjab CM Shahbaz Sharif held extensive consultation on the upcoming Senate elections.
The premier vowed to defeat the terrorists and make the country peaceful. He strongly condemned the Shikarpur incident where innocent people were targeted.The two leaders discussed the overall political and economic situation, including elections to the vacant Senate seats, the appointment of a new Punjab governor and relief to the people in the wake of the reduction in POL prices.
The prime minister said the government was committed to reducing the problems of the people and was taking all possible steps to provide them relief.In this connection, he said POL prices had been reduced three times in the last three months, inflation had been controlled and job opportunities were being created with the launching of new projects including power generation projects and the building of infrastructure. He emphasised that the provincial governments should take steps to ensure that the reduction in POL prices was passed on to the end users.
Nawaz Sharif reiterated his commitment to bring an end to loadshedding before 2018.The Punjab chief minister informed the prime minister about the implementation of the National Action Plan (NAP) and said the establishment of the Anti-Terrorism Force in the province was part of the plan. He said a large number of suspected people had been arrested and they were being interrogated. He said that innocent people will be released but those found involved in terrorist activities will be punished according to the law of the land.
Sources said that the PM and the CM agreed that new faces should be given a chance in the Senate elections while committed party leaders will also be given tickets.They further discussed the issue of the appointment of a new Punjab governor and agreed to appoint the new governor as soon as possible.