ABDUL RASHEED AZAD

ISLAMABAD: “All the political parties, federal as well as provincial governments are on the same page to conduct successful population census from March 15, 2017.”

This was stated by State Minister for Information and Broadcasting Marriyum Aurangzeb while addressing a conference here on Friday. She said that Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government is determined to fulfill the promise of conducting the population census in its tenure. She said that the Council of Common Interests in its meeting on Friday decided to conduct population census from March 15, 2017.

She said that completion of the census process will help better budgetary allocation for different sectors. She said that the population growth is a concerning thing for Pakistan.

Earlier, addressing an event in the memory of the Army Public School (APS) Peshawar victims, the minister said that the nation would never forget sacrifices of martyred students and staff of APS Peshawar, and of the armed forces.

She paid rich tributes to the APS victims and martyrs of the armed forces who offered sacrifices to realise the vision of eliminating terrorism from the country.

The minister said after the APS barbaric incident, the nation rose to the occasion, put aside all differences and got united for the elimination of terrorism.

The brave Pakistani nation, she said, has been facing terrorism for the last many years, but its resolve for the elimination of the menace has not been weakened. She said after the APS incident, an indiscriminate operation was launched against the terrorists, besides finalising the National Action Plan.

She said that PML-N government also formulated the National Internal Security Policy. Under the policy, all mobile SIMS were linked with national database, which was a unique feature. Though it was claimed that cellular phone companies might leave the country, the government gave priority to national security, she added.

Over 120,000 fake Computerized National Identity Cards were confiscated, illegal foreign residents were deported and border management system at the Afghan border was introduced, she added. The minister appreciated the role played by the provinces and said that entire nation is united on the issue of terrorism. The war against terrorism would continue till the last terrorist is eliminated from the soil of Pakistan, she added.

She said the Pakistani nation is the most resilient one in the world. In the West, the people even do not visit the sites of terror incidents for many months, but “we do not give up as the Army Public School Peshawar was reopened only a few days after the incident,” she added.

Speaking on the occasion, State Minister for Capital Administration and Development Division (CADD), Dr Tariq Fazal Chaudhary said the tragedy of APS gave a new turn to the history as an indiscriminate operation was initiated against terrorists.

The minister said there have been significant achievements on all the twenty points of the National Action Plan. The federal and provincial governments in close coordination with the armed forces took tangible measures against terrorists.