ISLAMABAD: President Mamnoon Hussain warned terrorists on Friday to surrender or be ready to face justice.

“Terrorists should accept the writ of the state or be ready to face dire consequences” of what they were doing in the name of Islam, the president said at the launching ceremony of a book written by Chinese President Xi Jinping. The title of the book is “The Governance of China”.

The ceremony was organised by the Pakistan-China Institute in collaboration with the Chinese embassy at the Pak-China Friendship Centre.

About the Peshawar assault by the Taliban terrorists which left over 130 schoolchildren and 10 other people dead, the president said that the incident had not demoralised the nation, rather it had strengthened its determination to root out terrorism from the country.

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“All martyred children and their parents are benefactor of the entire nation as their great sacrifice has given us a new resolve to fight these terrorists and rid the nation of this scourge for good,” he declared.

Mr Hussain pledged to eliminate each and every terrorist to make the country a cradle of peace, love and harmony so that it could resume its journey towards progress.

He said the entire nation had now stood up in support of armed forces in war against terrorism and extremism. “The entire nation now wants to make the country stable, prosperous and every hurdle in achieving this objective will be demolished.”

The ceremony was attended, among others, by Vice Minister of the International Department of the Communist Party of China Chen Fengxiang, Ambassador of China to Pakistan Sun Weidong, Chairman of Pakistan-China Institute Senator Mushahid Hussain Sayed and senior dignitaries from governments of both countries.

The president said that the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) was the flagship project for this new phase of relationship, adding that by linking the Gwadar Port via the Karakoram Highway to Xinjiang, the CPEC would help transform economies of both countries.

Mr Hussain hoped that the book would help understand various aspects of the Chinese government under the dynamic leadership of President Xi as well as China’s ideologies, pattern of development and policies and diplomacy.

The president said that Pakistan and China had always enjoyed close and cordial relations, adding that over decades the relationship between the two countries had grown into a strategic partnership that had benefited the two countries in the diplomatic, economic and military spheres.

The president welcomed the gesture shown by the Chinese president by coining the term “Iron Brothers” for Pakistan-China friendship.

“The people of Pakistan and China have stood shoulder to shoulder through every trial and tribulation. We cherish the same ideals: freedom, dignity, and the right to peaceful pursuit of development. We are truly `Iron Brothers’,” he said.

Published in Dawn December 20th , 2014