ISLAMABAD, Feb 3 (EW): Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday said that for a better Pakistan, the federation, provinces and political parties should unite against terrorism “or else history will not forgive us”.
He made the remarks during an apex committee meeting that was held in Governor House Peshawar to discuss the Peshawar mosque tragedy and a strategy to tackle the emerging wave of terrorism in the country.
The premier also expressed frustration levelled against the incumbent government by the opposition parties after the recent surge in terror attacks and urged for unity across the political spectrum.
Shehbaz, paying tribute to the martyrs of the Peshawar mosque attack, said the purpose of the meeting was to express sympathy with the families of the victims.
He also admitted that the attack was a breach of security and “we should not be hesitant in accepting the fact”.
The prime minister said that actions to deal with terrorism are the need of the hour and it was inappropriate to say that the Peshawar incident was caused by a drone attack.
During the meeting, the premier also assured that the government will use all resources against terrorism and stated that the Peshawar incident would be investigated throughly.
PM Shehbaz furthered that the government will not rest until terrorism is eradicated and will try to control terrorism despite the many challenges facing the country.
Criticizing the previous provincial government of PTI, the premier pointed out that Rs417 billion have been given to the K-P government since 2010, “Our question is where are those 417 billion rupees given to the K-P government?”
He added that even if even a quarter of the amount had been spent this situation could have been avoided
PM Shehbaz added that he is “not criticizing anyone, today we have to speak the truth”.
“We have to forget our differences and unite the nation together and we should put all differences aside,” the PM added.
Reiterating the need for consensus on terrorism, the premier said that without it there will be no success in the ongoing fight.
Criticizing PTI Chief Imran Khan for refusing to attend the apex committee meeting, the premier said “you (Imran Khan) are not ready to join hands to improve the destiny of the country”.
Concluding the meeting, the PM announced Rs2 million per person for the families of the martyrs.
Chief of Army Staff General Asim Munir, chief ministers of four provinces and Gilgit-Baltistan, federal ministers and national political leaders participated in the meeting.
However, no representative from Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) attended the meeting.
‘IMF giving finance minister a tough time’
During the meeting, PM Shehbaz emphasised the economic challenges faced by the country and said that the “situation is in front of the entire nation”.
“As I speak, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) delegation is in Islamabad and they are giving Finance Minister Ishaq Dar and his team a tough time,” added the PM.
Without going into the details, the premier said that the economic challenge at this point is unimaginable, adding that the IMF conditions that the country has to meet are “beyond imagination” but it is mandatory to fulfill the demands of the financial agency.
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