Law, order has improved after Zarb-e-Azb: Nisar

MARDAN: Federal Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan on Friday said that six to seven bomb blasts daily used to take place across the country when the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) formed the government, but now the law and order situation had improved.
He was talking to reporters at the Hoti House after offering fateha for the former federal minister and Awami National Party (ANP) leader Mohammad Azam Khan Hoti, who passed away recently.
Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Sardar Mahtab Ahmad Khan were also present on the occasion and offered condolences to former Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ameer Haider Hoti on the death of his father, Azam Hoti.
Chaudhry Nisar said when his party came into power, it first held peace negotiations with the militants and the process continued for eight months.“But the militants continued with their subversive activities so the government had to order the military operation,” he said in reference to the military operation Zarb-e-Azb that was launched against the local and foreign militants in North Waziristan in June last year.
He said the overall security situation in the country had improved after the launching of the ongoing military operation in North Waziristan.The interior minister underscored the need for close coordination among the political forces, federal and provincial governments and the security forces to stamp out the scourge of terrorism.
To a question about the Karachi situation, Nisar Ali Khan added that law and order in the port city was better compared to the past. However, he hastened to add that that it was the responsibility of the province government to maintain law and order.
Speaking on the occasion, Shahbaz Sharif paid glowing tributes to Azam Hoti and termed him a great leader. “He will be remembered even in the history of Pakistan’s politics,” he added. He pointed out that Azam Hoti had strived for the restoration of democracy. He added that his family and particularly his elder brother Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had close relations with Azam Hoti.
Answering a question about the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), he added that neither the federal nor the Punjab governments had changed its route.He added he had asked Governor Sardar Mahtab to arrange a meeting of leaders of all the political parties from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa where Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Reforms Ahsan Iqbal would brief them about CPEC.
Answering a question about the prime minister’s visit to Saudi Arabia , he said it was undertaken to show solidarity with the kingdom on behalf of the people and government of Pakistan in context of the Yemen conflict.
He said Saudi Arabia was a time-tested friend of Pakistan and the country would stand by it through thick and thin.However, he said that the government would stick to the resolution of the National Assembly calling for maintaining neutrality in the Yemen conflict.