PM pledges to rid country of sectarianism and extremism
ISLAMABAD — Prime Minister Imran Khan on Sunday said the government would transform the country into such abode where there would be no place for religious, lingual, caste or creed based sectarianism, extremism and violence.
In a message on the 4th anniversary of the Army Public School (APS) tragedy in Peshawar, he pointed out that education was the best weapon with which the nation could defeat extremism and terrorism permanently.
Imran said that December 16 reminded the nation of the tragic day on which terrorists, with utter disregard for the humanitarian and religious principles, targeted innocent students of the Army Public School who had arrived at the school to seek education with a hope for bright future.
This heart-wrenching incident not only inflicted pain and misery on the nation, but also paved way for the unity and solidarity in the nation against terrorism, he added.
The prime minister said with Allah Almighty’s support and nation’s backing, armed forces and other law-enforcement agencies, through operations Zarb-e-Azb and Raddul Fasad, accomplished an unprecedented decisive action against terrorism.
He said by sacrificing their innocent lives, the APS students united the nation forever against a heartless enemy who was a blot on humanity and the worst manifestation of inhumanity.
The prime minister observed that the memories of the APS tragedy would always remain alive. On this day, the nation paid tributes to the martyrs of APS and expressed solidarity and sympathy with the bereaved families. The whole nation shared the pain and suffering of the grieving parents, he added.
The prime minister said the nation had paid a huge price in the war on terror. Despite giving huge sacrifices in terms of human and financial losses, if anyone still levelled accusations against Pakistan, or blamed it, they were reminded that in this global war, the massive price was paid by the personnel of our armed forces, law enforcement agencies, civilian and innocent souls.
The prime minister reiterated that despite all these huge losses and sufferings, as a nation, they were committed to the national, regional and global peace.
He also paid tribute to the armed forces, law-enforcement agencies and all those institutions who had rendered sacrifices in the war on terror. The best way to pay tributes to the martyrs was to reiterate the resolve for the sublime objective for which they had laid down their lives, he stressed.
Today, as we remember and pray for the survivors and the victims’ families, especially the parents of the Peshawar APS terrorist attack, my govt. commits itself to fully implementing NAP to rid Pakistan of all forms of terrorism, violence and hatred
Imran Khan, Prime Minister