Terrorism, criminal syndicates, piracy, poverty modern-day threats: Murad

Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah has said that the modern-day threats to peace are extremist ideology-based terrorism, illegal activities by transnational criminal syndicates, maritime piracy, and poverty.

“Natural calamities as a result of climate change, environmental degradation, and the traditional threat of inter-state rivalries based on nationalistic agendas devoid of moral principles and justice happen to be great challenges.” This he said while speaking to the Heads of Foreign delegates/participants of Exercise Aman 2023 who made a collective call on him here at the CM House on Sunday. Minister Information Sharjil Memon, Minister Labour Saeed Ghani, Minister Local Government Nasir Shah, Advisor Law Murtaza Wahab, Chief Secretary Sohail Rajput, IG Police Ghulam Nabi Memon, Special Assistant Qasim Naveed, Cdr Mohammad Nasir Iqbal was head of the delegation.

Mr Shah said that `Aman’ meant ‘Peace’ in the Urdu [language] and peaceful co-existence was the centerpiece of Pakistan’s foreign policy. “Our religion Islam also commands all Muslims to establish peace in the world for the peaceful existence of mankind and its living environment; in fact, the word `Islam’ also means peace in the Arabic language which has been chosen by Almighty Allah Himself for this religion which was sent through our Holy Prophet, he said and added peace could be achieved by countering the prevailing threats, therefore countering threats to mankind and the environment where we lived was a cornerstone of Pakistan’s foreign policy as ordained upon us by our religion.

The CM said that in this age threats to peace have not increased manifold but have changed their nature and character. “Modern-day threats to peace are extremist ideology-based terrorism, illegal activities by transnational criminal syndicates, maritime piracy, and poverty,” he said and added natural calamities as a result of climate change, environmental degradation, and the traditional threat of interstate rivalries based on nationalistic agendas devoid of moral principles and justice were also a form of threats and challenges.

Murad Ali Shah said that due to the changing nature of threats in modern times, it was not possible for any single nation to single handedly counter such threats, therefore, this required the collaboration of all countries, especially in the international maritime areas. He added that Exercise Aman provided a platform where navies from a large number of countries got together to show their resolve and commitment to collectively counter threats that were threatening the well-being of the human race and its living environment.

CM aggrieved over Ghulam Mustafa Bhutto’s death: Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah on Sunday expressed his grief and sorrow over the death of Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto’s close associate Ghulam Mustafa Bhutto. He said, “I am saddened to learn about the death of Ghulam Mustafa Bhutto”. The Chief Minister said that his heart went out to the bereaved family. He also prayed for the blessing of the departed soul.

Hanif Samoon is a senior journalist based at Thar/Badin and contributes reports from different districts of Sindh to Minute Mirror. He has won a number of awards, including the Agahi Award twice for his stories on health and child rights. He tweets @HanifSamoon1 and can be reached through email at [email protected]