National consensus: Time ripe to implement National Action Plan, says CM

Shahbaz says extraordinary circumstances demand extraordinary measures.

LAHORE:

Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif said on Saturday that the consensus achieved on the national action plan demonstrated the national leadership’s maturity.

He was speaking at a meeting with Governor Chaudhry Muhammad Sarwar. Progress on development projects and the political situation in the nation were reviewed in the meeting.

The chief minister said the expression of confidence in Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif by the national leadership regarding the need to rid the nation of terrorism was auspicious. He said the unanimous decision taken at the recent all-parties conference (APC) regarding the war on terrorism was a landmark in national history.

“Extraordinary circumstances demand extraordinary measures,” Sharif said. The chief minister said the crucial decisions taken at the APC constituted a watershed in the war against terrorism. He said the unanimous decisions had been taken to bequeath following generations with a secure and peaceful Pakistan. Sharif said the time was ripe to implement the National Action Plan. He said terrorists would be held accountable for their misdeeds.

The chief minister said there was no place in the national fold for anti-state elements. He said the unprecedented Peshawar carnage had saddened the entire nation. Sharif said the time was ripe to rid the nation of the menace of terrorism. He said the nation was united in this regard.

The chief minister said the scourge of terrorism would be eradicated with national unity and Pakistan would be transformed into a citadel of peace. Sharif said the religious, political and military leadership were determined to eradicate terrorism. He said it was time to take decisive action against terrorists and the entire nation was standing shoulder-to-shoulder with the law enforcement agencies in this regard.

Sharif said officials from the military, the law enforcement agencies and the police had rendered great sacrifices in the war against terrorism.

He said 40,000 Pakistanis had been martyred in the war on terrorism. The chief minister said this was unprecedented.

He said the time was ripe to rid the nation of the scourge of terrorism as the entire nation was on the same page regarding the need to eradicate the menace from Pakistan. Sharif said the nation would emerge victorious from the war on terrorism at all costs.

Governor Sarwar welcomed the national leadership’s consensus regarding the National Action Plan. He said the government had taken formulated the national action plan in accordance with citizens’ expectations.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 4^th, 2015.