12 September 2004	Sunday	26 Rajab 1425

PESHAWAR, Sept 11: Interior Minister Aftab Ahmad Khan Sherpao has said that the government wants to stamp out terrorism from the country and is taking all the political parties along to achieve that end.

"We want to hammer out a solution to the problem of terrorism in the country and devise a joint strategy in consultation with all political parties," he said while addressing the party workers who had come to receive him after his appointment as federal interior minister here on Saturday.

He dispelled the impression that he (Sherpao) had been tasked to topple the MMA government in the NWFP, saying the sole aim of his being made the interior minister was to end terrorism.

The government, he said, was pursuing policies aimed at ending terrorism and creating an atmosphere where people could get jobs.

The government would never allow Pakistan's soil to be used by terrorist elements and would leave no stone unturned to establish a peaceful environment.

The government would soon invite a meeting of all political parties to seek their opinion on how to put brakes on the activities of people involved in acts of terrorism, he said.

The country could be put on the road to progress and development if terrorism was rooted out, he said.

The foreign investors could invest their money in the country after the elimination of terrorism, he added.

Mr Sherpao said that efforts were under way to bring reforms in police force, saying that people had countless complaints against police.

He claimed that the PPP had become a formidable political force and it was being further strengthened to solve people's problems.

The government, he said, would come hard on those creating law and order situation in the country.