LAHORE: British High Commissioner Philip Barton called on Punjab Chief Minister Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif and discussed matters of mutual interest including promotion of bilateral relations and cooperation in different sectors, here on Monday.
Speaking on the occasion, Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif said that Pakistan attached great importance to its relations with Britain.
The Chief Minister lauded the British cooperation in the education, health, skill development, law and order and other sectors, adding that collaboration between Punjab and Britain in various sectors was increasing and his recent visit to UK was the most successful tour of his political career.
He said ongoing programmes in education, health and skill development sectors were being successfully implemented in Punjab with the cooperation of British Department for International Development (DFID).
Emphasizing the need for further promotion of trade and economic relations between Pakistan and Britain, Shehbaz said that it was essential to take continuous steps in this regard by both the countries.
He said that extremist tendencies and terrorism could be overcome through education, adding the Punjab government was paying special attention to development of education sector.
He said the Punjab government wanted to further expand the scope of cooperation with the regard to development of social sectors with Britain.
Shahbaz Sharif said speedy follow up was being made on the important matters agreed during the meetings with British officials during his visit to Britain. He said the Punjab government was spending every penny with honesty.
Referring to National Action Plan against terrorism, Shahbaz Sharif said that all political parties displayed exemplary unity and consensus over this plan and the measures taken under National Action Plan were yielding positive results.
He said Pakistani nation, political and military leadership were united to root out terrorism, adding that more than 50,000 Pakistanis had sacrificed their lives in the war against terrorism and these included officers and jawans of Pak-Army, police and common citizens.
He said that the sacrifices made by Pakistan in the war against terrorism were unprecedented. He said that the war against terrorism was aimed at survival of future generations and it had to be won at any cost.
He said that there was no room for extremism in Pakistan. Shahbaz Sharif said that setting up of a peaceful society based on tolerance and restraint was the vision of Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah and the mission of present government.
He said transparency of the present government had been acknowledged in recent report of Transparency International released from Berlin and Pakistan was at the best position in the international index in this report in its history which was a proof of transparent policies of the government.
He further said the government led by Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif had made tremendous progress in different sectors during last two and a half years and great advance had been made in the elimination of terrorism and extremism besides resolving energy crisis.
He said that today's Pakistan was more safe, peaceful and developed than that of the Pakistan of 2013.
The Chief Minister said the British High Commissioner Philip Barton had played an important role in strengthening relations between Pakistan and Britain and his services in this regard were commendable. He expressed good wishes for Philip Barton.
Speaking on the occasion, Philip Barton said the Punjab government led by Chief Minister Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif had ensured proper utilization of money of British tax payers. He said that strong partnership existed between Punjab and Britain. He said Shahbaz Sharif had taken worth emulating public welfare steps in Punjab. He assured that cooperation in various sectors would continue with Pakistan.
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