ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif while chairing a meeting on internal security and the National Action Plan (NAP) on Monday expressed the government’s resolve to make Pakistan a safe place for people of all religions and ethnicities.

“We will make Pakistan secure for every ethnicity and religion,” he said, adding that the country is on the right track and the government will enable citizens to reap the benefits of a secure, stable and prosperous Pakistan.

Minorities in Pakistan have faced numerous casualties for more than a decade following the rise of extremism and terrorism in the country.

The premier’s statement comes just hours after two members of the Hazara minority community in Quetta were gunned down by unidentified assailants.

The prime minister during the meeting termed “extremist ideology” a global threat and said that Pakistan as a frontline state in the war on terror had “confronted the blowback of terrorists for several years”.

Nawaz said Pakistan had suffered socially and economically since it began to fight extremism and terrorism.

“No other country has suffered to this extent,” the prime minister said.

The premier hailed the efforts of Pakistan’s security forces and said he believed NAP and Operation Zarb-i-Azb had played a major role in cutting down the frequency of terror activities in the country.

“The world has acknowledged that the overall security situation of the country has significantly improved due to the ongoing National Action Plan and Operation Zarb-i-Azb,” he said.

“The gains in the National Action Plan and Operation Zarb-i-Azb, and progress achieved so far will be consolidated through well-coordinated and concerted efforts at the federal and provincial levels with the backing of the national resolve,” the PM said