Jihad to stamp out terrorism will continue, vows PM

By Shakil Anjum

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday reiterated his government’s resolve to continue the fight against terrorism, saying that enemies of Pakistan were afraid of its economic successes.

“Our Jihad to uproot terrorism from the country will continue. We will inflict such a crushing defeat on terrorists that they won’t dare look at Pakistan with ill intent again,” the prime minister said, chairing a high-level meeting on law and order here.

Appreciating the efforts and decisive actions by all institutions and provinces against terrorism, he assured the federal government’s full cooperation in enhancing the capacity of all provinces for the purpose. He called for setting aside all differences and working together to eliminate terrorism and lauded the personnel and officers of security forces confronting terrorists and sacrificing their lives.

Shehbaz instructed all the institutions to intensify their efforts against smuggling and tighten the noose around the human trafficking networks to bring the traffickers to justice. He directed the early completion of Safe City projects in major cities and appreciated the joint efforts by federal and provincial governments to promote a counter-terrorism narrative.

During the briefing to the prime minister, the relevant authorities stated that a National and Provincial Intelligence Fusion and Threat Assessment Centre has been established under NACTA. It was said that the Safe City project was operational in 10 cities of Punjab. The projects are also being implemented in Karachi, Hyderabad, Sukkur, Larkana, Mirpurkhas, and Nawabshah. The same has been approved for Peshawar and would be extended to Dera Ismail Khan, Bannu, and Lakki Marwat in the next phase. The participants of the meeting were told that the Gwadar Safe City project would be completed soon, and similar projects would be implemented in all the major cities along National Highways N-25 and N-40.

The Digital Enforcement Stations are being established on various highways and bridges to curb smuggling. Federal and provincial governments are taking action to remove all illegal constructions around major urban centres. It was said that a Forensic Science Agency had been established in Islamabad, and the Punjab Forensic Science Agency was being further upgraded.

Separately, speaking at a ceremony in Islamabad where he launched a new Performance Management System for revenue FBR officers, the prime minister said, “If we want to move away from the International Monetary Fund, we must work hard to increase our revenues.” He said the FBR revenues witnessed an increase of 27 percent, for which the entire FBR team deserved appreciation. However, he said this was a long journey and more work was needed to plug the loopholes in the system.

To improve the performance of FBR officers and promote a system of accountability and reward, the prime minister also launched a fully automated and digital system for evaluating officer performance.

During his visit to the FBR, the prime minister was briefed on PRAL (Pakistan Revenue Automation Limited), digital invoicing, and the newly launched Performance Management System. He also visited the newly established delivery unit of FBR and interacted with officers.

Shehbaz was informed that the FBR was introducing a data-driven decision-making system. This includes data collection from Nadra, banking institutions and other sectors regarding payments and asset purchases.

In line with the prime minister’s vision for reforms and digitisation of the FBR, the entire value chain is being digitised. Furthermore, preparations for launching the digital invoicing system have been completed, and it will be officially rolled out soon. It was also shared during the briefing that tax return forms for the current fiscal year had been simplified. Under the new system, more than 35 additional companies have been brought into the tax net.

Meanwhile, in a statement, the prime minister appreciated Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz for announcing a special package, approving Rs15 billion Wheat Support Fund to benefit 550,000 wheat farmers directly. He said that the waiver of Abiana (water charges) and fixed taxes for wheat farmers in Punjab was a relief for the farmers.

Separately, in a statement issued by the PM’s Office, the prime minister hailed the increase in Information Technology (IT) exports by 23 percent to $2.828 billion during the first nine months of the current fiscal year. “The 23 percent increase in IT exports has been made possible due to the timely provision of facilities to the IT sector and due to tireless efforts of the government team,” he said. He said the government was striving to increase the number of Pakistani professionals providing IT services abroad and in the IT export sector.

Meanwhile, speaking at a press conference in Islamabad, Minister of State for Interior Talal Chaudhry stated that there will be no extension in the deadline set for the return of Afghan nationals residing illegally in Pakistan. “The government has made another decision and informed all the four provinces that from today onwards, anyone who rents out any place, shop, or house to an illegal foreign national will also be held accountable. Only those foreign nationals with legal documentation can be provided with housing, shops, or employment. Similarly, only those individuals with legal documents can be given residence in hotels or movable and immovable property by Pakistani citizens,” he added.

He said that in the second phase of the deportation of foreign nationals, which began on April 1, 84,869 Afghan citizens have been sent back to their country. He said the Pakistani Ministry of Foreign Affairs is in contact with the Afghan government to ensure that once their citizens reach Afghanistan, they can settle there with dignity and peace. He said that only those individuals possessing valid legal documentation, irrespective of their nationality, are eligible for employment within the nation’s borders.