LAHORE: Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif says the nation needs to unite to crush terrorism and face with full might the enemies which are weakening the country.

Speaking at a seminar held to mark the second death anniversary of Dr Sarfaraz Husain Naeemi at Jamia Naeemia here on Sunday, he said time had come to get rid of the oppressive system and introduce a system of equality and justice based on Uswa-i-Hasana and Meesaq-i-Madina.

He called upon the Ulema to come forward for the sake of solidarity and survival of the country and promote national unity.

Paying tribute to Dr Naeemi he said the late scholar stood for truth and set an example by laying down his life for the supremacy of Islam.

He said the nation would have to unite on a single platform to combat terrorism and ensure supremacy of justice, equitable distribution of resources and elimination of economic and social disparity.

Mr Sharif said only the elite enjoyed privileges while 85 per cent of the people were deprived even of basic amenities.

He said that it was not the Pakistan envisioned by the Quaid-i-Azam and Allama Iqbal and for which thousands of people had sacrificed their lives. He said: “We are facing problems and crises because we have forgotten Islamic teachings.”

In order to make Pakistan a citadel of Islam, he said, the 'charity' offered by outsiders would have to be turned down because it compromised national honour and dignity.

The chief minister said that foreign assistance would never bring prosperity, local resources would have to be developed and austerity would have to be practised to move forward.

He said that the Punjab government had started encouraging talented students of educational institutions and position-holders and in a similar manner, madressah students performing well in modern education would also be supported.

He announced regularisation of services of daily-wage employees working in mosques under the administrative control of the Auqaf Department.

Dr Raghib Husain Naeemi, former foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Pir Syed Rafiq Shah and Haji Mohammad Rafiq Ahmed Barkati also spoke at the seminar.