KARACHI, Dec 27: Sindh Governor Dr Ishratul Ibad Khan has said that in the year 2007 the government will focus on strengthening inter-faith, religious and ethnic harmony in the province and it will strictly deal with individuals or groups hindering this process.

He was speaking at a programme hosted by the city nazim, Mustafa Kamal, on Wednesday night to mark the completion of four years of Dr Ibad as Sindh governor. The programme was attended by diplomats, businessmen, politicians, provincial ministers and advisers, town nazims and people from different walks of life.

“During the last four years we had tried to spread interfaith, sectarian and ethnic harmony among the people of Sindh and it will be on our top priority during the next year. We will maintain the writ of the government and deal with with an iron hand those trying to destabilise this process,” he said.

He said that Pakistan had witnessed various political ups and downs since its inception, which hampered the process of development of the country.

He said that four years back when he took over as governor the overall situation in the province was pathetic and it was necessary to evolve a comprehensive strategy to resolve the longstanding issues.

The governor recalled that it was his first and foremost priority to improve the sense of security among the masses, which was a gigantic task. “While confronting various kinds of terrorism, we made such an environment where acts of terrorism failed to create chaos in the province. Today, we are witnessing economic viability, industrial growth and development in our social sector,” he remarked.

The governor said that historically Sindh was the flashpoint of any movement, which also had a negative impact on the centre. “In the last four years the situation in Sindh remained under control and I will give full credit of this to my team,” he added.

He paid tribute to Muttahida Qaumi Movement chief Altaf Hussain, President Pervez Musharraf, Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, Sindh ministers, law enforcement agencies for extending their full support for dealing with such a difficult province and the city.