President Asif Ali Zardari on Thursday reiterated the commitment of the government to curb militancy and sectarianism with an iron hand and would chase the killers of innocent people in Balochistan and elsewhere till they were brought to justice. "The fight against militant and sectarian mindset may be hard and long but will not rest till we have defeated this enemy of the state and the country," the President said.
Spokesperson to the President Senator Farhatullah Babar said that the President held a series of meetings here on return from his visit to Tehran with the parliamentarians, the religious leaders and the elders of the Hazara community during which he also called upon them to augment the efforts of the government. The first meeting in the series was held with the parliamentarians of Balochistan belonging to various political parties, wherein the overall situation of the province with special reference to the efforts being made by the government in bringing the people of the area into the mainstream of national life and improving their socio-economic condition and the improvement of the law and order situation in the province was discussed.
The meeting was attended among others by Governor Balochistan Nawab Zulfiqar Ali Magsi, Federal Minister for Science and Technology Mir Changez Jamali, Dr Asim Hussain, Advisor to Prime Minister on Petroleum, former Deputy Chairman Senate Mir Jan Jamali, some Senators and parliamentarians belonging to Balochistan. During the meeting, the President reiterated the commitment of the government to make Pakistan and particularly Balochistan prosperous. He said that the government had taken practical steps for the development of Balochistan. Aghaz-e-Haqooq-e-Balochistan Package was one example of this commitment.
The President said that the development of the Gwadar port project was another mega project that promised great benefits to the people of the area. He said that the development of Gwadar Port project was handed over to China in order to speed up its development and to enable the people reap the dividends at the earliest possible. Spokesperson said that the political situation in the province was also discussed during the meeting.
The meeting with the parliamentarians was followed by meeting with the Ulema representing various schools of thought. Those who were present during the meeting included Maulana Abdullah Khilji, Abdul Qudoos Sasoli, Moulana Shehzad Attari, Mufti Ghulam Mohammad, Allama Mohammad Jumma Asadi, Allama Sheikh Ghulam Mehdi Najafi, Allama Maqsood Ali Domki, Allama Mohammad Hashim Mosoli and others. Governor Balochistan Nawab Zulfiqar Ali Magsi was also present. During the meeting the President called upon the Ulema to further strengthen the efforts of the law enforcing agencies in bringing to justice those who misuse the name of the religion. The President said that Islam was a religion of peace and enjoins upon its followers to thwart attempts to victimise vulnerable sections of society.
The President called upon the need to collectively fight against the forces that breed hatred and promote militancy and sectarian killings. Later, the President also had a meeting with a delegation of the Hazara community headed by MPA Dr Ruqayya Saeed Hashmi. The delegation included Syed Ashraf Zaidi, Abdul Khaliq Hazara, M Tahir Advocate, Sardar Saadat Ali Hazara, Major Nadir Ali, Colonel Younas Changezai and others.
The President expressed his profound sympathies over the great loss that the community had to suffer recently at the hands of extremists and fanatics. The President offered fateha for the martyrs and prayed to Allah Almighty to grant courage to the bereaved families to bear their losses with fortitude.
Talking to the delegation, the President reassured them that the government would undertake every possible effort to bring the culprits involved in the attack on Hazara community to justice. He said that the federal government was providing every support to the provincial government in investigating the heinous incidents. The President during the meeting advised the Governor Balochistan to personally monitor and ensure that the injured were being provided the best medical assistance and that the bereaved families were provided relief by the government.
The President also asked Dr Asim Hussain to visit CMH Quetta on his behalf to inquire about the wellbeing of the injured of the Hazara Community. The representatives of the Hazara Community thanked President for personally sharing grief and sorrow of bereaved families of Hazara community and assured him their fullest co-operation in maintaining law and order in Balochistan.
Later the President also chaired a meeting on law and order situation in the province. Governor Balochistan Nawab Zulfiqar Ali Magsi, Chief Secretary Babar Yaqoob Fateh Muhammad, IG Police Balochistan, IG FC, Home Secretary Balochistan and Commissioner Quetta attended the meeting.
During the meeting the President was apprised about the prevailing situation and various measures being taken to beef up the security and provide security to the people. The meeting was informed that the security arrangement in and around Quetta city have been beefed up and FC has been given the powers of police under Anti-Terrorism Act. It was informed that Special Task Force has been constituted to deal with serious crimes including targeted killing, sectarian killing and kidnapping for ransom.
Various other measures such as ban on rahdaris, display of arms, prohibition of tinted glasses and campaign against unregistered vehicles were also identified as being taken, to control the situation in the city. The President during meeting, while emphasising upon the need for capacity enhancement of the law enforcing personnel to deal with the emergent situations, assured that the federal government would continue providing every possible support to strengthen the law enforcing agencies in the province. The President also called upon the need for adequate legislative measures so that the witnesses could be provided legal protection while helping the law enforcing authorities.
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