ISLAMABAD- Federal Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, today urged the nation to set aside political differences and get united to exterminate the menace of terrorism from the country.

"Today a national tragedy has occurred in Peshawar in which over 100 school children were martyred by the terrorists, which is highly condemnable," he said while talking to the media after attending a meeting on tax reforms. Dar said, now there was a time to launch a decisive drive to fight the terrorists.

The talks with Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) scheduled for today had also been postponed due to the tragic incident, he added. The minister said Pakistan was facing three major issues - economy, energy and terrorism. "The economic indicators are quite satisfactory, energy issue will be resolved soon as the government has initiated many projects, while the nation will have to get united and support the government for curbing the menace of terrorism," he added.

The Prime Minister, he said, would meet leaders of all political parties in Peshawar on Wednesday. PTI Chairman Imran Khan would also be invited to attend the meeting, he added.

Earlier addressing the meeting on tax reforms, the minister directed the Federal Board of Revenue authorities to present their recommendations as early as possible so that they could be incorporated in the next budget.

The minister was informed that the tax reforms committees would hold a final meeting on January 17 next year to finalize recommendations.