Summary PM said that leniency of govt towards recent unrest must not be considered weakness of state
ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) – Prime Minister (PM) Nawaz Sharif addressed the nation Monday evening and condemned the tragic incident that occurred in Lahore a day before while reaffirming the national morale to wipe out terrorism from the country, reported Dunya News.
PM said that the entire nation is saddened after the horrible incident that happened in Lahore’s Gulshan Iqbal Park a day ago which claimed the lives of 70 people and left over 300 injured. Nawaz said that the terrorists are aiming for soft targets and are attacking educational institutions and public places in order to hide the losses they are suffering.
PM stated that the terrorists have killed innocent humans. He resolved to avenge every single drop of blood of the martyrs and stated that the fight against terrorism will continue until this menace is completely taken care of. However, he also expressed his sorrow over the fact that no one dared to look the terrorists in the eye for 13 years.
PM said that terrorism, mischief or propaganda of any sort will not hinder the government in achieving its targets. He added that the leadership of the country has vowed to put an end to poverty, backwardness, illiteracy and to replace darkness with light. Referring to the terrorists, PM said that they must not forget that their cowardly attacks cannot dissolve our firm resolutions as the entire nation is determined upon to put an end to terrorism.
PM Nawaz further added that because of the combined efforts of the civil-military leadership many breakthroughs have been achieved regarding the battle against terrorism as "these adversaries of humanity cannot easily thrive upon the Pakistani land any longer" he said.
PM said that Islam is a religion that promotes peace and brotherhood. He said that violence caused under the title of religion will not be tolerated and that the government has been tolerant towards recent unrest.
He said that to protect the lives and property of the citizens is the constitutional responsibility of the government. “The leniency of the government must not be confused with incapability or weakness of the state” he said, adding “those who spread extremism and sectarianism in the country will have to face the law.”
PM Nawaz Sharif cancelled his visit to the United States (US) on Monday in the wake of the Lahore blast, he said that the country requires national unity to defeat terrorism.
PM Nawaz has cancelled his visit to US where he was scheduled to attend Nuclear Summit in Washington and a meeting was likely to be held with his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi.
According to the sources, Special Assistant to PM on Foreign Affairs Tariq Fatemi will now visit US on PM’s behalf. There are reports that PM himself will supervise the investigation of Lahore blast.
Earlier, PM also chaired a meeting regarding security situation in the country which was attended by federal ministers and advisors to PM.
He has also directed to update him with every single development of investigation regarding Lahore incident and also cancelled his trip to London. During the meeting he also said that country requires national solidarity and that the nation will defeat terrorism at any cost.
