Pakistan-Iran border in Panjgur: New crossing point to help promote legal trade: PM

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif while lauding security forces under the leadership of the Army Chief for their operations against terrorists across the country has expressed the confidence that the terror network, Fitna Al-Khawarij, will soon be eliminated permanently.

The Prime Minister addressed the federal cabinet meeting on Tuesday and said relentless operations against the terror group are ongoing, and peace has been restored in Kurram following a successful peace agreement.

The premier said food items and medicines are being supplied to the area. He expressed the confidence that all the stakeholders will make collective efforts to keep peace intact.

Highlighting the army’s efforts, Shehabz Sharif said that a large number of terrorists has been neutralised during various security operations in Balochistan and KP, and the nation recognises the sacrifices of the armed forces. “Peace will be restored in the country as was done in 2018 under the leadership of Nawaz Sharif,” he added. The Prime Minister added that trade routes on the Pakistan-Iran border have reopened, boosting bilateral commercial traffic.

Shehbaz Sharif said a new crossing point has been opened on Pakistan-Iran border in Panjgur, saying this will promote legal trade and help check smuggling. He thanked Iranian cooperation for the opening of the new crossing point.

The Prime Minister praised the holding an international conference on girls’ education in Islamabad, calling it a positive development.

The OIC Secretary General, Saudi delegation and education ministers from different Muslim countries had participated in the conference that made the event a big success, he added.

Shehbaz Sharif called for proactive steps to address the challenges in the education sector. He asked the Minister for Education to closely coordinate with the provinces for promotion of education, emphasizing this will be a major national service.

The Prime Minister pointed out that 22.8 million children are out of schools in Pakistan with majority of them girls.

Referring to the international conference held recently in the federal capital on girls’ education, the Prime Minister noted that good discussions took place regarding the education of girls. He recalled that Pakistan also declared education emergency a few months back.

He said that since education was a devolved subject, the federal government should aggressively work with the provincial governments to address the challenge of out-of-school children with a majority of them being girls.