Prime Minister Shujaat Hussain on Friday expressed concern over the younger generation becoming victim of sectarianism, and appealed to the society to rescue them.
Addressing the 4th National Security Workshop (NSW) here at National Defence College, he asked all segments of the society "to join hands to get rid of sectarianism, once and for all". He said, "We all know how the poison of sectarianism has entered, and is destroying, the structure of society. I am very concerned about our younger and future generations, who are going to be the main victims of this poison."
Talking about double standards in the society, Chaudhry Shujaat said, "We are fast changing into a society of hypocrites, and levelling of false charges is becoming our habit. It is my desire that during my tenure I should adopt a proactive approach to curb this by making changes in the existing law."
Shujaat said that there are internal threats to Pakistan which include water issue, sectarian violence, political polarisation, unemployment, lack of education and exploitation of religion to achieve political ends and net of terrorism spread by foreign elements.
About external threats the Prime Minister said that economically the country must progress and be self-sufficient "so that we can sustain" pressures from the outside world. Any external aggression against Pakistan and sponsored terrorism in the country are other external threats, he added.
Shujaat said that he would not suggest any solution to these threats but would look forward to the recommendations of the NSW.
"I will request the Commandant of NDC to forward recommendations to the Prime Minister's office which, I can assure you, will be considered as part of solutions," he said.
The Prime Minister asked the nazims, who are participating in the workshop, to follow the concept of good governance. This implies a code of conduct to exercise socio-economic powers in managing the affairs of the state in the best possible manner, he said and added that essential components of good governance are within the framework of accountability, transparency and active participation of all stakeholders.
Shujaat asked the participants to always remain above board and be ready to sacrifice personal interests for national interests.
He said: "We have to -find the root-cause of going from bad to worse, from bomb blasts to suicide attempts."
The Prime Minister said that guidance "given to us by Allah Almighty through Holy Quran" has to be passed on to the new generation in the true spirit of Islam.
He said that he was happy to see the members of political parties from government and opposition sitting together in the workshop. "I wish and pray that we all remain united on the issues of national interest, rising above political considerations," he said.
He said that it should be known to the world "that we formulate our policies in line with our national interests and in no way we would deviate under any pressure".
The Prime Minister announced that the participants of all the four NSWs would go on regional study tour to different countries and the government would provide fund for the visit.
The participants of the 4th National Security Workshop (NSW) are parliamentarians, officers of armed forces, civil servants, advocates, nazims, businessmen and media managers.
Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, General Mohammad Aziz Khan, was also present on the occasion. Earlier, Commandant National Defence College, Lieutenant General Tariq Waseem Ghazi in his address said that the NSW was an endeavour to enable the leaders of the society to comprehend the issues of national security.
"We are providing them conducive and congenial atmosphere to themselves evaluate the issues of national security and make up their mind," he added.