National Action Plan: ‘Maintaining law and order our chief priority’

Shuja Khanzada praises IGP.

LAHORE: Home Minister Shuja Khanzada said on Friday that cases registered against people included in Schedule-IV under the National Action Plan against terrorism were being reviewed.

Khanzada was speaking to journalists at his office. He said officials had been ordered to not detain any person listed in the schedule without comprehensive investigation and solid evidence. He said strict action would be taken against officials who violated this directive. Khanzada said maintaining order and eliminating terrorism were the foremost priorities of the government. The minister said measures were being taken in this regard. He said decisions taken in the wake of the NAP were being speedily implemented across the province in accordance with the instructions of the Apex Committee.

Khanzada said work carried out by the Punjab Information Technology Board with regard to mapping crime had revealed that its incidence had been significantly reduced in the province. He said the implementation of the NAP will continue till the province was completely rid of terrorists. He said the government would leave no stone unturned to make the province a haven of peace.

The minister said the thana culture was changing for the better following the establishment of 10 model police stations. He said the polite conduct of information technology officials deputed at police stations was restoring the confidence of the public in the force. Khanzada commended the IGP on the occasion.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 25^th, 2015.