KARACHI, Oct 29: Federal Minister of Law Barrister Shahida Jamil has said the government is committed to uprooting terrorism and extremism from society.

Speaking at the annual prize distribution at the IBA campus at Karachi University on Sunday night, she said terrorism emanating from extremism and intolerance in Pakistan society had resulted in shattering foreign investors’ confidence and flight of capital from the country.

Such a situation had resulted in massive unemployment, and it had been harming the economy for more than a decade, she said. She criticized previous governments for their complacency in dealing with the problem effectively. In this regard, she pointed to the incapacity of police in dealing with modern-day crimes.

Referring to the war on terrorism, the minister said President General Pervez Musharraf had taken a correct decision as it was in the national interest. His decision was directly related to reviving the culture of dialogue, strengthening civil society and building an investor-friendly environment.

“We always talked of the need for a leadership which can display courage to tackle thorny issues. The present head of state has chosen the courageous option, and we have lent him full support as he is determined to restore normality in the country,” she said.

Referring to the September 11 tragedy, she said no one can justify violence. The attacks in the United States were terrorism which have been condemned by the Muslims the world over.

After the Russian aggression against Afghanistan in 1979, we witnessed a major influx of refugees from Afghanistan. We not only assisted the Mujahideen as Muslim brothers, but wealthy Afghan refugees also spread in our land all the way down to Karachi and have been accepted as guests.

“The trucking business, once owned mainly by Pakistani Pathans, today is dominated by our Afghan guests with most of our Pathans employed as drivers and mechanics, besides they are also dominating in other trades,” she remarked.

She reiterated the government’s commitment to equip police with latest equipment to combat crimes and terrorism. They included fast vehicles, DNA testing and modern fingerprint technique to identify criminals.

Shahida Jamil said it was true that there were many grievances against police, but at the same it was also true that they were being denied operational funds.

Job-seekers, many of whom were illiterate, were recruited in violation of rules under VIP quotas, which promoted corrupt practices. Besides, police training was kept to a minimum of six months, while in places like Singapore the training period was two years.

She described the present investigation and detection techniques as obsolete, and said so these were outdid by sophisticated criminals and terrorists.

In view of these grave issues the ministry of law had started work on ensuring “Access to Justice” under an Asian Development Bank programme loan of 150 million US dollars which had now been increased to 250 million US dollars to improve the working of lawcourts and policing, the minister said.

Earlier in his address of welcome, the Director of IBA, Dr Jawaid Ashraf, said this year six faculty members of the Institute had proceeded abroad for doing PhD, and soon another six would be going abroad for PhD.

Prominent business managers also spoke at the ceremony expressing their full confidence and support for the polices of President Pervez Musharraf.—APP/PPI