Punjab

Force of unity: National Action Plan bearing fruit, says Shahbaz

CM says victory is the only option in the war on terror.

Our Correspondent January 18, 2015

Earlier, the chief minister was briefed about steps that had been taken to implement the National Action Plan, the security situation in the province and a security plan evolved for educational institutions. PHOTO: NNI

LAHORE:

Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif said on Sunday measures taken under the National Action Plan to defeat terrorism were yielding positive results.

He was presiding over a meeting that reviewed steps taken to implement the plan and security measures at schools across the province.

The chief minister endorsed a suggestion to make it compulsory for educational institutions to install an advance alarm system on their premises. He ordered provincial ministers and secretaries of various departments to continue monitoring security arrangements made by educational institutions.

Sharif said the nation was united in the country’s war against terrorism. The unity would help rid the country of the menace. He said the government was committed to making Pakistan a land of peace.

“All segments of society will have to fight the war.”

The chief minister said victory was the only option in the war on terror. He said the December 16 terrorist attack on a school in Peshawar had united the nation against terrorists. “The martyrs of the school attack have strengthened our resolve to fight terrorism,” he said.

Sharif said terrorism, extremism and sectarianism would be fought with the force of national unity. He said extraordinary measures demanded extraordinary steps.

He ordered that a comprehensive plan be made to improve the performance of Civil Defence Department.

Earlier, the chief minister was briefed about steps that had been taken to implement the National Action Plan, the security situation in the province and a security plan evolved for educational institutions.

Railway Minister Khwaja Saad Rafiq, Provincial Ministers Col (r) Shuja Khanzada, Mujtaba Shujaur Rehman and Ata Maneka; MPAs Rana Sanaullah and Zaeem Hussain Qadri, MNA Raza Hayat Hiraj, Special Assistant to Chief Minister Rana Maqbool, the chief secretary, the IGP and the home secretary attended the meeting.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 19^th, 2015.