ISLAMABAD - Information Minster Senator Pervaiz Rashid on Friday said the nation has made a pledge to root out the scourge of terrorism and the operation Zarb-e-Azb would continue till elimination of last terrorist from the soil of Pakistan.
Talking to media on the occasion of the launch of a new news channel, he said, "It is not the pledge of a party, the government, a group of people or any institution but the nation as a whole has made the pledge to make Pakistan free of terrorism".
He said in the past people did vent their fury through words, then it was expressed through sticks and now in its worst form, fury took the shape of guns. He said that terrorism was the biggest threat being faced by the country and "we will have to get rid of this scourge at all cost."
The minister said that the country has suffered a lot due to terrorism and time has come to eliminate terrorists for ever.
He said that the governments in developed countries set their priorities to improve the standard of life of their masses but in Pakistan we faced many hurdles. He said that the governments should be given time to focus on building new schools and hospitals and public welfare projects, rather than dragging them to the courts and D-Chowk activities.
The minister said 2018 would be the year of elections and the people of Pakistan would judge through their ballot whether the government had come up to their expectations or not. He said that the government respected the mandate given to the MQM by the people of Karachi and Hyderabad, but its political future has to be decided by its leadership and its voters. He said that law enforcement agencies nab the criminals irrespective of their political affiliations; whoever would break the law, will be brought to book.
Replying to a question about Saulat Mirza's disclosures, he said that the evidences would be presented in the courts and they would give their verdict in their light.