Islamabad (Web Desk/Agencies): Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday said that political stability is inevitable for economic development in the country.
Chairing a review meeting on the implementation of the National Action Plan attended by civil and military leadership, the premier said that national unity was the only way forward to save Pakistan and make it a great nation.
PM Shehbaz said Pakistan currently faced economic challenges and expressed the hope that the situation would improve after the matters with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) would be finalised in near future.
He maintained that though the government was compelled to accept strict IMF conditions, the state of Pakistan was above all. Even the government’s coalition parties also put their political interests at stake for the sake of the country and to improve the economic situation.
The premier said that cooperation by the friendly countries was no less than Allah’s blessing, but the foremost priority should be to put our own house in order otherwise no one would come up for help.
Regarding the security situation in the country, the prime minister told the participants that after a terrorist attack in Peshawar on February 3, the civil and military authorities had held a seven-hour long session and took several decisions.
Elaborating on the formation of the National Action Plan, he said the previous Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government had invited stakeholders for a “comprehensive discussion” which led to the plan’s formation.
He said that the then premier Nawaz Sharif had invited all the national leaders including those “who did not want to see the matter straightforwardly” however, the decisions were made to revive peace in the country.
He told the participants that after the Peshawar attack, the incumbent government also invited all the stakeholders but that particular party did not bother to attend the meeting.
“They still want to resolve the matter on the streets that was highly condemnable,” he remarked.
The prime minister said during an attack on the Karachi police office last week, the personnel of Sindh police, Rangers and Pakistan Army bravely fought the terrorists. He also prayed for high ranks in the paradise for the soldiers martyred during the operation.
Mentioning the killings and arrest of terrorists during different military actions, PM Shehbaz said that the security agencies were making their efforts to ensure the security of citizens.
“If we act egoistically in this situation too, and compromise over Pakistan, this is not politics,” he commented.
The prime minister said for the security of future generations, it was a must for all to realise the sensitivity of the situation.
He recalled that Pakistan had sacrificed around 83,000 lives of its soldiers, politicians, and their families, and common citizens to restore the “peace for the world.”
The meeting came after Defence Minister Khawaja Asif and Director General of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Lieutenant General Nadeem Anjum visited Kabul to discuss the rise in militant activities, including the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan's (TTP) attacks inside Pakistan.
Meanwhile, Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Syed Asim Munir and DG ISI Lt Gen Nadeem Anjum called on PM Shehbaz Sharif at Prime Minister's House in Islamabad ahead of the apex committee meeting.
According to sources, the overall security situation of the country and ongoing operation against terrorism was discussed in the meeting.
