‘Action against rogue seminaries soon’

Khanzada says nation will be rid of terror.

LAHORE: Home Minister Shuja Khanzada said on Wednesday that the government would take action against religious seminaries not being run according to law.

The minister was speaking to reporters at the Provincial Assembly. Khanzada said 90 per cent of the seminaries in the province were being run according to law. He said the government would take action against the remaining seminaries. Khanzada said the time was ripe to take decisive action against those flouting the law. He said a final decision regarding the establishment of military courts would be taken by the parliamentary committee. “Extraordinary times require extraordinary measures,” Khanzada said. He said the civilian system had not failed and the government had managed to bring all stakeholders including the military to the same page regarding the need to eradicate the scourge of terrorism.



He said government, military and citizens had the same opinion on the subject and it was imperative to take advantage of the consensus. Khan said the Peshawar massacre had moulded public opinion against anti-state elements. He categorically denied pressure on the government to put an end to the execution of convicts on death row.

Khanzada said Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was spearheading the war on terrorism and the nation had united under his leadership. He said Pakistan would be rid of terrorism at all costs. Khanzada said the government was committed to protecting the life and property of citizens. The minister said an apex committee had been constituted in the province under Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif to counter terrorism. He said the nation was bearing the brunt of over three decades of war. Khanzada condemned Lal Masjid cleric Maulana Abdul Aziz’s statement regarding the Peshawar massacre.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 25^th, 2014.