ISLAMABAD – In his address to the nation on Monday evening, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said that no one will be allowed to kill in the name of religion.
“The whole nation is in mourning as terrorists have started targeted soft targets in the recent past,” he said in his televised speech. He reiterated that the menace of terrorism would be rooted out from the society.
The prime minister stated that although the armed forces are carrying out Zarb-e-Azb military operation, the fight is not over yet. “Government is responsible for protecting lives and properties of its people,” he said.
Referring to the recent terrorist attacks in Brussels and Paris, Nawaz said, “Terrorism has become a global threat and the whole world is affected by it.”
The prime minister’s address comes a day after at least 72 people were killed in a suicide blast that ripped through a gate of Lahore’s Gulshan-e-Iqbal Park.
Earlier today, the prime minister chaired a high-level security meeting to review law and order situation in the wake of Lahore blast. He ordered that perpetrator of the attack be brought to justice.
On Sunday, the army chief directed commanders and intelligence agencies to kick off a search operation in Punjab to bring the perpetrators of the deadly Lahore suicide attack to justice.
Read: Paramilitary crackdown launched in Punjab after deadly Lahore bombing
So far the paramilitary forces have carried out five operations in Lahore, Faisalabad, and Multan, Inter-Services Public Relations Director General Lt General Asim Bajwa said in a statement.
Read: Several arrested in anti-terror raids in Punjab after Lahore blast: ISPR
