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Operation bringing peace back to Karachi: Nawaz
* PM says incidents of kidnapping for ransom, extortion and target killings have reduced * No justification for anyone in country to keep illegal weapons
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ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Thursday said that operation against terrorists and miscreants in Karachi was launched after taking all political parties into confidence.
He said peace and stability of the country’s commercial hub was in the interest of all. The situation in Karachi had considerably improved since the start of the operation and incidents of kidnapping for ransom, extortion of money and target killing had reduced, he said.
Talking to the PML-N MNAs from Faisalabad Division here at the PM House, the prime minister said there was no space for terrorism in the country and criminals convicted in heinous crimes would be brought to justice. He said there was no justification for anyone in the country to keep illegal weapons.
PM Nawaz said the government was facing big challenges and was tackling these through effective policies. However, he said, backlog of past several years could not be fixed through a magic wand. “We must make ourselves stronger. I wish to resolve major challenges faced by the country before the next general elections,” he said. He said since coming into power, the PML-N leadership tried its best to take all the parties along on national issues.
The prime minister said PML-N gives respect to all political parties and considers divergence of views as the beauty of democracy. He said workers and leadership of PML-N had struggled for democracy and rule of law having given immense sacrifices for the restoration of democracy. He said the recent by-election in Nankana proved that PML-N’s policies were gaining popularity among the masses as its candidate defeated his opponent with a huge margin of 40,000 votes.
He said the government had prioritised generation of electricity in the country and decided that 3600MW LNG-based plants would be set up through funding of Public Sector Development Programme. In addition, work was underway for import of electricity from China as well as on other projects including Neelam-Jhelum, Guddu, Nandipur, Diamer-Bhasha and Dasu. He said that 10000MW of electricity would be added to the national grid by the end of 2017.
The premier said directions had already been passed to Ministry of Water and Power for lesser load shedding during summer. Whenever the government of PML-N came into power, he said, its leadership worked for the betterment of the people, and ensured transparency and development in infrastructure and social sectors.
He announced that he would soon visit Faisalabad Division, meet workers and announce development projects for the welfare of residents. He said the government had zero tolerance for any kind of corruption and steps were being taken for ensuring transparency and merit at all levels. During the meeting that lasted for more than three hours, the prime minister listened to the views of each participant and sought suggestions from the legislators about improving governance and providing maximum relief to the people.
The MNAs congratulated the prime minister on making effective policies for tackling several important challenges. They informed the prime minister that marked reduction in oil prices helped the farming community, industrialists, merchants as well as the common man. They appreciated the patience and restraint shown by the government last year when undemocratic forces made an effort to destabilise democratic institutions in the country. They also said that people in their constituencies were highly appreciative of the government’s decision of undertaking operation Zarb-e-Azb as well as the operation in Karachi and are praying for their complete success.
The MNAs included Lt Col (r) Ghulam Rasool Sahi, Talal Chaudhry, Rajab Ali Khan Baloch, Chaudhry Muhammad Shahbaz, Mian Muhammad Farooq, Dr Nisar Ahmad Jatt, Rana Muhammad Afzal Khan, Mian Abdul Mannan, Abid Sher Ali (Minister of State for Water and Power), Haji Muhammad Akram Ansari, Qaiser Ahmad Shaikh, Ghulam Muhammad Lali, Shaikh Muhammad Akram, Sahibzada Muhammad Nazir Sultan, Najaf Abbas Sial, Chaudhry Khalid Javaid Warraich, Muhammad Junaid Anwaar Chaudhry and Chaudhry Asadur Rahman.
Political Secretary to PM, Dr Asif Kirmani and MNA Capt (r) Muhammad Safdar also attended the meeting.
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk