LAHORE
The menace of terrorism has to be crushed with an iron fist, Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif said on Tuesday.
The CM made the comments while presiding over a high-level meeting at the Chief Minister’s Secretariat held to review the law and order situation in the province after the Pakpattan bombing at the shrine of Hazrat Baba Farid Shakar.
Members of National Assembly (MNAs) Pirzada Imran Shah, Sardar Mansab Ali Dogar, Member Provincial Assembly (MPA) Chaudhary Javed Ahmed, Punjab chief secretary, the provincial home secretary, inspector general of police, the commissioner and the Sahiwal regional police officer were present on the occasion.
Addressing the meeting, the CM said that nothing could be more important in the present circumstances than the maintenance of law and order, and the Punjab government had been utilising all available resources for this purpose. He said that the current circumstances demanded that the entire nation unite on a single platform and foil the designs of the enemies of the country.
Emergency basis: The CM went on to issue directives to the officials concerned to make foolproof security arrangements at all places of worship and shrines on an emergency basis.
In addition to the installation of modern security equipment, volunteers belonging to the sects concerned should also be assigned responsibilities along with police for ensuring foolproof security at these places, he added.
Shahbaz said that the CS should work out a system for the recruitment of volunteers and their training. He directed the home secretary and IGP to personally visit all of Punjab’s major shrines and imambargahs and then submit recommendations for evolving a foolproof security plan.
The CM stressed the need for close coordination between the different intelligence agencies and police force with the objective of improving their performance.
Later, the IGP and Sahiwal RPO gave a detailed briefing regarding the Pakpattan bomb blast.
