PESHAWAR: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday called for forging unity to defeat anti-Pakistan elements. The prime minister said this at the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Apex Committee meeting held at Governor’s House here.

He also vowed to eradicate terrorism by utilising all the resources available.

Shehbaz while 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 said that the attack was a breach of security and “we should not be hesitant in accepting the fact.”

Death toll in Peshawar mosque suicide blast rises to 100

The PM 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.

Services chiefs, federal ministers, chief ministers of all four provinces and Gilgit-Baltistan, AJK prime minister and senior officers of police sensitive institutions were also present in the meeting.

“The whole nation is in mourning over the devastating terrorist attack on the Peshawar mosque,” the PM said, adding terrorism had been eliminated a few years back but now it was again raising its ugly head due to the previous government’s wrong policies.

Describing the Police Lines mosque blast as the deadliest incident after the APS incident in 2014, the PM vowed that the federal government would extend maximum support to efforts aimed at strengthening the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) and police of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to help them better fight terrorism.

He emphasised the need for capacity-building of its security departments.

Furthermore, he underscored the need for greater unity among all provinces to jointly fight the menace of terrorism.

Condemning the ongoing campaign on social media against the Peshawar incident, PM Shehbaz Sharif termed it baseless and unfounded. While expressing solidarity with the families of those who lost their lives in the terrorist incident of Peshawar, the PM announced compensation of Rs 2 million for each dead and Rs 0.5 million for each injured.

Terrorism was wiped out after successful military operations including Zarb-e-Azb and Radd-ul-Fasaad, the premier said, adding that the nation would not forget the sacrifices of the armed forces and people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in the war against terrorism.

Shehbaz said he had convened an All-Party Conference (APC) on February 7 to discuss ways to overcome the current national challenges. He also mentioned that an invitation had been extended to Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) to attend the conference.

Criticising the previous provincial government of PTI, the premier said that Rs 417 billion had been given to the KP government since 2010, “Our question is where those 417 billion rupees were spent [by the KP government]?”

He added that even if even a quarter of the amount had been spent this situation could have been avoided.

“We have to shun our differences and unite the nation,” the PM added.

Reiterating the need for evolving consensus on terrorism, the premier said that without it there will be no success.

Criticising PTI Chief Imran Khan for refusing to attend the apex committee’s meeting, the premier said “you [Imran Khan] are not ready to join hands to improve the destiny of the country.”

The meeting offered Fateha for those who lost their lives in the suicide blast at the Peshawar mosque.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023