United stance: Nation will win war against terrorism, says CM

British high commissioner calls on Shahbaz Sharif

LAHORE: Pakistan is fighting the war against terrorism to protect its future generations. The nation will win this war at all costs, Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif said on Monday.

He was talking to British High Commissioner Philip Barton, who called on him. Matters of mutual interest, bilateral relations and promotion of cooperation in various sectors came under discussion at the meeting.

Referring to National Action Plan against terrorism, Shahbaz Sharif said that political parties of the country had displayed exemplary unity and agreed on the plan. “Steps taken under the National Action Plan are yielding positive results. The whole nation has united to crush terrorists as terrorism is seen to be the biggest hurdle in the process of national development and prosperity,” he said.



He said that terrorists had displayed extreme brutality in killing children in Peshawar. “The tragic incident has been strongly condemned throughout the world. Every Pakistani is grieved over the martyrdom of innocent children in Peshawar,” he said.

He said that more than 50,000 Pakistanis had lost their lives in the war against terrorism. “These include officers and jawans of the armed forces and policemen. The sacrifices rendered by the Pakistani nation in the war against terrorism are unprecedented,” he said.

“Terrorism will be rooted out and Pakistan will be made a haven of peace. Terrorists will be eradicated from the country with the force of unity. The war against terrorism will continue till a comprehensive victory. Pakistan is facing the challenge of terrorism and extremism. This menace will be eliminated using the force of unity,” he said.

“The relations between Pakistan and Great Britain are strong. The government values the British cooperation in education, health, law enforcement and other sectors,” he said. Shahbaz stressed the need for improving trade and economic relations between Pakistan and Britain. “Solid measures should be taken to improve the level of trade between the two countries. Various programmes in education, health and skills development sectors are being successfully implemented in the Punjab with the cooperation of British Department for International Development (DFID),” he said.

He said that education had vital importance for curbing extremism and terrorism. “Therefore, the government is paying special attention to the uplift of education sector. State-of-the-art Daanish Schools have been established in backward districts of the province,” Shahbaz said. He said that quality education was being imparted on modern lines to the students in Daanish Schools. “Job opportunities have been provided to youth through imparting them various skills under the Skills Development Programme. The scope of this programme is being expanded,” he said. He said that Punjab government wanted to expand the scope of cooperation with Britain for the development of the social sector.

Barton said that Britain attached great importance to its relations with Pakistan. “Cooperation with Pakistan will continue,” he said. He said that Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif had taken practical measures for the progress and prosperity of the people of the province which was highly commendable. “Shahbaz Sharif is serving the people with commitment and determination,” he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 20^th, 2015.