LAHORE – Punjab Chief Minister (CM) Shahbaz Sharif urged the army once again on Tuesday to safeguard the country against terrorism, and said that the administration, police, civil society, media and people from all walks of life would have to contribute their share to rid the country of the menace. The CM told assembly members from Faisalabad and Sargodha at Chief Minister’s Secretariat that it was the collective responsibility of all Pakistanis to strive for national development and prosperity.
He said that a joint struggle would have to be waged for the equitable distribution of resources, supremacy of law and developing the country in accordance with the vision of Allama Iqbal and Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah. “The war against corruption and terrorism will have to be won for the survival of the country, otherwise future generations will never forgive us,” he said. Terrorism was the biggest problem of the country and could be tackled only with the force of unity, he added.
The CM said that the government would have to realise its responsibilities and become a servant of the people in the real sense. He said that honest and professional officers were deployed in the province purely on the basis of merit but the desired results had not been achieved. He said that poor people visiting police stations for justice were still looked down upon by the police officials. He said that it was time to change “thana culture” and make police stations centres for the provision of justice.
He said that the Punjab government was utilising all its resources to improve the condition of life for the deprived segments of society and that the setting up of “Daanish Schools” in remote and underdeveloped areas was a step in this regard.
Sharif said that if democratic eras and military rules were compared, the former had always proved better. He said that corruption and nepotism was rampant in the last era of dictatorship and national resources were mercilessly embezzled and squandered.
He said that Transparency International had called the Punjab government of 2006 the most corrupt ever. He said that the current government had eliminated corruption from the province and all resources were being utilised to provide basic amenities to the people. He said no one could accuse the government of corruption now and Transparency International had also endorsed this fact. Senior Advisor Sardar Zulfiqar Ali Khan Khosa, Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah, Advisor Zakiya Shahnawaz, Khawaja Ahmad Hassaan and officials from the districts concerned were also present on the occasion.
