World anti-terrorism forum must be established: Sukhbir

Sukhbir Singh Badal said that Punjab is a transit route of drug suppliers across the border from Pakistan and Afghanistan to other parts of the country.

Jalandhar: Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal on Sunday strongly advocated the need to form a 'World Anti-terrorism Forum' to counter the biggest challenge of terrorist attacks and terrorism activities across the globe.

He emphasized that terrorism cannot be related to any religion or community as the terrorists have no religion and to eliminate such activities, all nations have to unite on the anti-terrorism forum like economic forums.

The European countries have now realised the real threat of terrorism as their citizens were killed by the terrorists but in the past, these nations never raised their voice against the threat, he said.

He suggested that United Nations should come forward in this regard and if any country provides support to terrorist outfits, then that concerned nation should be singled out and boycotted by other countries.

He also said that the Congress leaders must be thrown out of party for openly supporting the anti-national 'Sarbat Khalsa' (congregation of Sikhs) at Amritsar on November 10.

Welcoming Amarinder Singh as PPCC President, he said that the coronation of Singh would not change the bleak fortunes of Congress in Punjab as he is a spent force who had already been defeated by the SAD-BJP combine twice.

Blaming the Punjab Congress for "defaming" Punjab on the drug issue, the SAD president said there should be an uniform policy in the country to tackle this serious issue as some states like Rajasthan and Madhya Pardesh are generating revenue from the cultivation of Opium at one hand but other states are suffering at the other.

He maintained that Punjab is a transit route of drug suppliers across the border from Pakistan and Afghanistan to other parts of the country and Punjab is fighting a nation's war on the front.

"It is a matter of satisfaction that Punjab made a service to the nation by breaking the drug supply line by arresting the drug lords and confiscated large quantities of narcotics," he said.

On the issue of corruption, he said "this social disease could not be wiped out by bringing Lokpal but only through eliminating the direct contact between common man and public servants that could be possible in implementing online services".

He informed that in this regard 2,400 'Sewa Kendras' in urban and rural areas would be made functional within three months for provisioning of about 200 citizen centric services at their doorsteps.