CTD producing positive results in war against terror: Shahbaz

LAHORE: Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif said efforts of Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) were producing positive results in the war against terror, adding that the establishment of Safe City Authority in Lahore and other cities had resulted in a marked decrease in terrorism and other crimes.

Shahbaz was talking to British Home Secretary Amber Rudd during a meeting in London on Thursday, as both sides discussed different matters of mutual interest and bilateral relations between the two countries.

The British home secretary said Pakistan had played a commendable role in war against terrorism. She said due to the hard work of the chief minister and his team, improved results had been achieved in health and education sectors.

Shahbaz said Pakistan-UK relations were based on solid foundations and added that the collective efforts of Punjab government and DFID had helped achieving the targets of education sector reforms programme.

On the other hand, the chief minister said the Pakistan Resolution was an important milestone in the struggle for a separate homeland for the Muslims of Subcontinent. “It is also an occasion to pay homage to martyrs and freedom fighters who played an active role in the struggle for Pakistan,” he said in a message on Pakistan Day.

Shahbaz said the nation needed the same passions for unity and brotherhood showed by the Muslims on March 23, 1940. He vowed to take the nation towards development and prosperity and said, “It is our duty to strive for the fulfilment of the objectives of Pakistan Movement.”

The chief minister said the government was making sincere and strenuous efforts to wriggle the nation out of the quagmire of problems. “The sacrifices rendered by our forefathers demand that we should achieve the objectives of independence and this goal can be achieved by making the country great in line with the vision of Iqbal and Jinnah,” he stressed.

And in Lahore, Punjab Minister Primary and Secondary Health Khawaja Imran Nazir handed over the keys of three ambulances worth Rs6 million to Pakistan Hindu Council President MNA Ramesh Kumar. These ambulances were gifted by Shahbaz to the Pakistan Hindu Council.