President Asif Ali Zardari said on Thursday that the whole nation was a victim of militancy and terrorism and urged people to join hands with the government to fight off the menace regardless of partisan considerations. He said this while addressing the representatives of Bajaur victims living in camps due to the ongoing operation against militants in the area.
The President said that Pakistan had been attacked by militants and it was imperative to defeat them for peace and stability in the country. He said that the government was aware of the hardships faced by the victims and had devised plans for building Reconstruction Opportunity Zones in the tribal areas to speed up development and provide employment to youth.
He said the government had also made plans for providing compensation to the victims of terrorism. The government was engaged in a comprehensive dialogue with the international community on the issue of defeating terrorists on the one hand and rebuild tribal areas economically on the other.
The meeting was also attended by Qamar Zaman Kaira, Minister for Kana, Syed Naveed Qamar, Minister for Privatisation, Najmuddin Khan, Minister for Safron, Shaukat Tarin, Finance Advisor and Senator Nilofar Bakhtiar, leader of the delegation. Speaking on the occasion, the representatives of Bajaur victims highlighted their problems and called for restoration of normalcy and peace at the earliest in the region.
Advisor to the Prime Minister on Interior Rehman Malik informed the meeting that the writ of the government had already been established in four tehsils of Bajaur Agency and that Charmang and Mamond tehsils would also be under complete control of the government by the end of this month.
The delegation of the Bajaur victims was led by Senator Nilofar Bakhtiar who thanked the President for meeting representatives of the victims living in three makeshift camps. She said that the Red Crescent Pakistan and some other NGOs were engaged in providing relief to the victims.