MULTAN, May 16: Governor Khalid Maqbool said on Thursday terrorists had no religion and deserved no mercy.

Addressing a press conference at the local airport, he said Riaz Basra was a dreaded terrorist and was killed in an encounter in Mailsi on Tuesday.

Maqbool said the death of Riaz Basra and his accomplices was not the first instance of its kind. “Several others had already been eliminated”.

He said the nation could not easily erase the deep scars of the brutal murders of worshippers, mourners and lately those of Dr Ghulam Murtaza and Dr Attaur Rahman Saquib.

He said the task of nabbing the chief of defunct Lashkar-i- Jhangvi was not an easy one. Although he was not arrested alive the police had to do a lot of homework to close in on the outlaw.

The governor said the war on terrorists was not over as yet. “It will continue unabated. They won’t be taken lightly by the government after the elimination of their head.”

To a question he said the police officials who did this ‘wonderful job’ would be rewarded befittingly.

ECONOMY: The governor said the government had depoliticized the country’s economic policies to achieve long-term objectives.

He said due to the present government’s prudent policies the national economy had been steered out of the woods.

He said if the prices of petroleum and its products had ‘slightly’ increased due to international price hike the same would be reduced whenever the situation improved as had happened in the past.

He said within the next month or so thousands of teachers, doctors and other staff would be recruited across the province.

Maqbool said the government would continue to assist farmers with the support price mechanism till they were able to stock their produce and were not compelled to sell in haste.—APP