Books, not bullets, needed to curb terror: Punjab CM

LAHORE: Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif has said the whole nation is united to eliminate terrorism and to achieve this objective we need books, not bullets.

British Minister for International Development Priti Patel called on Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif here on Friday and discussed the enhancement of bilateral cooperation in education, health, skill development and other sectors. 

The meeting also decided to enhance cooperation to eliminate child labuor. The British minister expressed grief over the loss of lives in the recent incidents of terrorism in Pakistan.

Speaking on the occasion, Shahbaz Sharif said England and Pakistan are important partners in the journey of development and progress in Pakistan. He said various programmes in the fields of education, health and skill development were running successfully in Punjab with the cooperation of DFID. He said enrolment in primary schools had reached 90 percent and a programme was running successfully with the cooperation of DFID for the provision of missing facilities in schools and training of teachers.

According to a handout, the chief minister said a majority of population in Pakistan comprised of youths and for their empowerment thousands of youths had been imparted training under the Skill Development Programme. He said the war against terrorism was the war of survival of Pakistan and there was no precedence in the world of sacrifices rendered by Pakistan in the war against terrorism. He said the whole nation was united to eliminate terrorism and to eliminate terrorism we need books, not bullets.

He said, "we need trade with the UK, not aid and the UK investors can take benefit from investment opportunities in Pakistan especially Punjab." He said war is no solution rather it increases poverty and problems. He said now it is time that we should work together for peace and prosperity in the region. He said the Punjab government had taken exemplary steps for the empowerment of women and in official boards the quota of women had been fixed at 33 percent. 

He said the Punjab government had eliminated child labour from brick-kilns and 8,700 children working on kilns had been enrolled in schools and in the second phase, child labour would be eliminated from hotels, workshops, and petrol pumps.

British Minister Priti Patel said Pakistan’s sacrifices in the war against terrorism were deeply respected. She said Shahbaz Sharif had done a wonderful job by ending child labour from brick-kilns and his efforts for reforms in the social sectors were laudable. 

UK High Commissioner Thomas Drew, DFID Director for Asia Caribbean and Overseas Richard Montgomery, Chief of DFID in Pakistan Joanna Reid, provincial ministers Rana Mashhood Ahmad, Zakiya Shahnawaz, Hameeda Waheeduddin, Khawaja Imran Nazir, Adviser Dr Umer Saif, chief secretary, Chairman P&D, Secretary Home and officers concerned also attended the meeting.