- PM says peaceful environment in country would benefit soldiers fighting terrorists in NWA
- Shahbaz Sharif says Punjab govt will not spare perpetrators of Lahore’s Model Town incident
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Thursday said that Operation Zarb-e-Azb requires national unity, adding that terrorists would lose the war.
Sharif said this during a meeting of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) held to discuss the ongoing military operation in North Waziristan and the Lahore Model Town episode.
“A peaceful environment in the country would benefit the soldiers fighting in the North Waziristan tribal area,” Sharif said, adding that the internally displaced persons from North Waziristan would be provided with every facility in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Sharif said he would soon be visiting Peshawar to review the arrangements made for the IDPs and operation in North Waziristan. He said the nation would be kept informed about the progress in Operation Zarb-e-Azb.
The meeting was attended by Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, Minister for Defence Khawaja Muhammad Asif, Information Minister Pervaiz Rashid, Minister for Planning Ahsan Iqbal, Minister Railways Khawaja Saad Rafiq and Minister SAFRON Lt Gen (rR) Abdul Qadir Baloch.
Meanwhile, the Punjab chief minister’s briefing on the Lahore Model Town tragedy also came under discussion.
During the meeting, it was expected that the names of those responsible for carrying out orders to open fire at the Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) supporters would be disclosed, but no such details emerged. However, the PML-N leadership collectively condemned the episode that resulted in the death of PAT supporters.
Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif said the provincial government would investigate the incident and those responsible for it would be brought to justice.
The prime minister said that such incidents should be prevented in the future and relatives of those killed and injured should be compensated. He asked Shahbaz Sharif to pay personal attention to the return of Dr Tahirul Qadri so that there was no untoward incident.