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Saturday, October 19, 2013
PM orders ‘zero tolerance’ against ‘enemies of state’* Nawaz says terrorists, target killers, extortionists will be dealt with iron hand
* Writ of state will be ensured at all costs
* Punjab will set up counter-terrorism force soon
LAHORE: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has said that there should be zero tolerance against the enemies of the state and they should be dealt sternly.
Prime Minister Nawaz Friday said that the state has the right to take pre-emptive steps for protection of its citizens and a special counter-terrorism force (SCTF) would be formed soon in Punjab. He said this while chairing a meeting in which he was given a presentation on SCTF in Punjab. Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, Punjab Inspector General (IG) Khan Baig and officials of various law enforcement agencies also attended the meeting.
The prime minister said that the new force should be raised immediately with a new command structure. He said it should be professionally sound, competent and adequately paid. Nawaz said anti-terrorism force structure would be separate from that of police. The prime minister said a new force is needed to deliver in the right direction and he expects that this (new force) will help in eliminating extortionists and target killers. “Law enforcement agencies need to show zero tolerance towards heinous crimes,” Nawaz said.
“We have promulgated laws which would deal with the enemies of the state within the framework of our constitution and based on principles laid down by our founding fathers,” he added. Terrorists, target killers and extortionists, he declared, would be dealt with an iron hand and brought to justice.
The prime minister emphasised that the writ of the state has to be ensured at all costs. He said the target killers and extortionists must understand that rules of engagement for such a war are different and strict. Separately, while addressing PML-N parliamentarians, party workers and people from various walks of life after offering Eidul Azha prayers at Jati Umra, Raiwind on Wednesday, the prime minister said that the PML-N took charge of the government in a very difficult time when the country was facing a number of critical challenges. “By the grace of Allah Almighty, we are determined to make a bright future of Pakistan through hard work to come to the expectations and aspirations of the people” he said.
He said that the government took all the political parties on board for preparing a common agenda to eradicate the menace of terrorism from the country. The premier said the government adopted the dialogue process to restore peace in the country and hoped that the efforts to start talks would be successful. Talking about the Karachi operation, Nawaz Sharif said that government was going to introduce new laws to counter crimes and terrorism, and they would ensure punishment to every criminal who kills innocent people. He said the criminals would be treated according to their crimes and misdeeds irrespective of their party affiliation. “We are going to take bold decisions for the sake of restoring peace and maintaining law and order in Karachi and everywhere in the country”, he added.
He was of the opinion that eradication of terrorism and other crimes was key to restoring peace in Karachi and other parts of the country in order to improve investment and end economic dependency on others. The prime minister appreciated the performance of the law enforcement agencies in Karachi, which has decreased crimes like kidnapping for ransom, target killing and extortion to some extent. Nawaz Sharif said the energy crises had become a major challenge which has badly affected the national economy. The government, he assured, is fully committed to overcome this challenge during its five years’ constitutional term.
Referring to the recent increase in electricity prices, the premier said that he approved this raise with a heavy heart as there was no way out. He said prices of electricity would be reduced after generation from new power projects starts. He added that the government has launched an operation against power thieves. app
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk