Shehbaz Sharif says ‘a particular political faction’ is creating instability by taking to streets n Calls for national unity to alleviate poverty n Admits coalition govt put their political interests at stake by accepting IMF conditions n Hopes deal with IMF will soon be materialised.

ISLAMABAD     -     Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday said setting aside personal likes and dislikes and forging national unity was a must to alleviate poverty and make Paki­stan an economic tiger.

The prime minis­ter while chairing a re­view meeting on the implementation of the National Action Plan at­tended by civil and mili­tary leadership said that the national unity was the only way forward to save Pakistan and make it a great nation.

He 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 taken several deci­sions. He said after an attack on the Karachi police office, 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.

The prime minister said af­ter the terrorist attack on the Army Public School of Pe­shawar, the national leader­ship had formulated a Nation­al Action Plan. He said the then Prime Minister 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 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 is highly con­demnable,” he remarked.

The prime minister said Pa­kistan currently faced econom­ic challenges and expressed the hope that the situation would improve after the mat­ters with the International Monetary Fund were 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.

He said 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 will come to our help“. Mentioning the kill­ings and arrests of terrorists during different military actions, Prime Minister Shehbaz said 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.”

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif says develop­ment of Balochistan is one of the topmost priorities of the gov­ernment. He was talking to Min­ister of State for Power Hashim Notezai who called on him in Is­lamabad on Friday.

During the meeting, overall political situation of the coun­ty as well as matters related to power division were discussed.