LHAORE - Punjab Chief Minister Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif has said that the whole nation will have to make concerted and determined efforts for the elimination of terrorism and militancy in the interest of survival of the country. He said it is the need of the hour that we should play a historic role for national sovereignty and integrity. He was addressing a meeting of parliamentary party of PML-N at the CM House here on Monday. Makhdoom Ahmad Mehmood, Noor Niazi, Senior Advisor, Sardar Zulfiqar Ali Khan Khosa and Minister for Law Rana Sanaullah were also present on the occasion. The Chief Minister said that Pakistan is facing serious challenges in the form of extremism and terrorism due to which the whole country is in the grip of fear and the economy as well as the process of investment has been seriously affected. He said that hideous conspiracies are being hatched to destabilize Pakistan, and it is high time the nefarious designs of the enemies were foiled in the interest of survival and future of the country. He said that Allah Almighty has given an opportunity to present leadership to change the destiny of the people, root out cruelty and injustices from the society and provide prompt and inexpensive justice as well as basic facilities to the citizens, therefore, every effort should be made to come up to the expectations of the masses. The CM said that collective efforts are needed to save Pakistan from lawlessness and terrorism and the elected representatives will have to play a key role for defusing the situation and it is possible only if petty differences were sunk and the whole nation stood united on a single platform. He said that we will have to realize our responsibilities at this critical juncture of our national history and immediate steps will have to be taken for safeguarding the country. He paid rich tributes to elected representatives for their political maturity and unswerving determination for the restoration of judiciary and said that Quaid PML-N, Muhammad Nawaz Sharif displayed extreme sagacity and steadfastness on this occasion and is still playing a pivotal role in steering the country out of the present crisis. He said that with the grace of Allah Almighty Pakistan will live for ever and will achieve the status envisioned by Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah and Allama Mohammad Iqbal. The Chief Minster further said that that the masses have high expectations of the present leadership therefore every effort should be made for the prosperity of the people as well as providing them basic amenities. He said that due returns were ensured to the farmers for their labour during wheat procurement campaign in the province otherwise corrupt elements would have pocketed billions of rupees. He said that contractors and commission mafia are active in development projects and billions of rupees of the hard-earned money of the people have been lost due to corruption and irregularities. He said that reliance on foreign loans has aggravated our problems. The CM said that Musharraf mortgaged the country and became instrument of others only to prolong his rule. He said that it is due to the wrong policies of Musharraf that Pakistan is facing serious crisis. He said that it is high time we learnt to rely on our own resources instead of foreign aid and lived as an independent and dignified nation. He said that Pakistani nation is talented and by firm faith in Allah Almighty we will have to move forward and regain our lost prestige. The meeting also offered Fateha for the departed soul of Dr Mohammad Sarfaraz Naeemi. He said that Punjab government is taking solid measures for the betterment and uplift of the poor as they have as much right on the resources as the elite. He said that there is a need for raising the standard of life the people as well as solution of their problems. He said that elected representatives should consider the funds to be released to them in the next budget as a sacred trust and ensure their transparent utilization. He said that we should inculcate the spirit of honesty and hard work for changing the destiny of the country. The CM said that provision of Roti to the people for Rs.2 is a big achievement of the PML-N government and this project will continue forever. He said that 34,000 teachers are being recruited in the province purely on merit and elected representatives have fully supported this policy in the interest of glorious future of the young generation. He said that assembly members should fully participate in the budget session to discharge their responsibility as the representative of the people.