LAHORE: Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif said on Tuesday fight against terrorism was Pakistan’s own war in which the army would emerge successful.

‘The nation stands behind the armed forces fighting militants in Waziristan,’ he said while addressing participants in the National Defence Course 2009-10, here at the Chief Minister’s Secretariat.

‘Had the dictator who toppled the democratic system not been removed, the existing solidarity and cohesion in fight against terrorism would not have been possible,’ he said.

As the army was making sacrifices for the future of the country, he said, the political leadership should display a sense of responsibility at this juncture. He said poverty, ignorance, unemployment, injustices and the corrupt elite were blameworthy for the present state of affairs and time had come to use all resources to stem these evils – the root-cause of militancy, says a press release.

As for the National Reconciliation Ordinance, the chief minister said: ‘Had parliament approved the bill and provided legal cover to loot and plunder, it would not have been damaging for the moral fabric of society.’ He said the sole aim of the NRO originator was to prolong his rule.

‘Why couldn’t Bhasha Dam project be executed even in six years and why was criminal negligence shown in the utilisation of coal reserves and other resources of the country?’ he asked.

On the Enhanced Partnership with Pakistan Act (Kerry-Lugar Bill), he commented: ‘Harmonious relations with a superpower like America should be a priority, but it does not mean that one should start begging from it.’

Shahbaz Sharif said there was nothing wrong with the local government system as long as it helped solve problems of the people, but unfortunately since the days of Ayub Khan it had been motivated by vested interests. ‘However, we want to make it effective and vibrant for solving problems of people at their doorstep and empower them with resources,’ he said.

He said the Punjab government was taking steps for the promotion of national unity and cohesion. Setting up of a general hospital in Swat and construction of a cardiology institute in Balochistan (by Punjab) were testament to it, he said.

Besides, the Punjab government had reserved quota for the students of other provinces and Azad Kashmir in its educational scholarships, he concluded.