PESHAWAR: Former prime minister and central leader of Pakistan Peoples Party Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani said on Sunday that the federal government should devise an effective strategy to avoid occurrence of tragic incidents like the massacre of children in Army Public School, Peshawar.

Mr Gilani was speaking to mediapersons here at the residence of PPP leader Arbab Mohammad Alamgir. He supported the government’s decision to resume implementation of the death penalties. The former prime minister also visited the Combine Military Hospital and Lady Reading Hospital where he inquired after the wounded students.

He said that armies couldn’t fight war alone without the support of the nation. He expressed satisfaction over the unity of the entire nation against terrorism. The PPP leader said that the massacre of students in the school had shocked the entire nation.

The former prime minister said that the government had done a good job to convene the parliamentary parties’ conference soon after the incident. He said that PPP would support the government in implementation of the decisions taken in the conference.

He said that terrorism was a serious threat to the country and its citizens and a major obstacle in the way of development and investment. Referring to the militant attack on the school, he said that such tragedies also created problems for overseas Pakistanis.

Gilani says cordial Pak-Afghan ties important for peace

“Cordial relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan are very important for peace in both the countries,” he said, adding that tragic incidents like the recent one could not be stopped effectively if Pak-Afghan relations would not be good.

Mr Gilani said that though the PPP government had made all efforts for better relation with the neighbouring countries, the relations with India and Afghanistan were not good.

He demanded of the government to announce civil awards for the victims of the school attack and extend financial support to the bereaved families. He said that the implementation of the law should be top priority of the government. He said that it was the responsibility of the government to provide security to the witnesses.

Mr Gilani pointed out that with the influx of internally displaced people the problems of the people of Peshawar and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa had multiplied. He said that the government should take effective measures for repatriation of the displaced people.

Published in Dawn December 22th , 2014