File photo of Pakistan PM Nawaz Sharif
Islamabad:
Enemies of Pakistan who cannot tolerate its development want to destabilise it, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said today and vowed to move forward with full strength and completely eliminate terrorism from the country.
Addressing the National Assembly after 74 people were killed in a deadly suicide bombing at a hospital in Quetta, Mr Sharif said that all resources will be used to eliminate the threat of militancy from the country.
Mr Sharif said army and intelligence agencies were working "day and night" to defeat militancy.
"We will move forward with full strength and completely eliminate terrorism from the country," he said.
Mr Sharif highlighted that those involved in the Quetta blast follow that the same ideology which prompted them to target Benazir Bhutto Hazara community in Balochistan, a church and Army Public School Peshawar and prominent people of the country.
"We will have to defeat this ideology because this ideology is the enemy of Pakistan," he said.
Mr Sharif said that enemies of Pakistan want to destabilise it because they cannot digest development projects like the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, which will bring prosperity in the country.
Earlier in the day, Mr Sharif chaired a meeting of army and civilian officials including army chief General Raheel Sharif to discuss the security situation after the Quetta bombing. He asked the officials to speed up operation against the militants. He also promised to provide every kind of help to the provinces to deal with terrorism.
At least 74 people were killed on Monday and over 100 injured after a suicide bomber struck the emergency ward of Quetta's Civil Hospital, where scores of people had gathered to mourn the death of Balochistan Bar Association (BBA) president Bilal Anwar Kasi in a gun attack earlier in the day. The attack was claimed by Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan splinter outfit Jamaatul Ahrar and the ISIS terror group.