QUETTA: President Asif Ali Zardari on Thursday reiterated the commitment of the government to curb militancy and sectarianism with an iron hand and would bring to justice the killers of innocent people in Balochistan.

“The fight against the militant and sectarian mindset may be hard and long, but we will not rest until we have defeated this enemy of the state,” the president said.

Spokesperson to the President Farhatullah Babar said that Zardari held a series of meetings in Quetta on return from his visit to Iran, with parliamentarians, religious leaders and elders of the Hazara community, during which he called upon them to augment the efforts of the government.

The first meeting in the series was held with parliamentarians of Balochistan belonging to various political parties.

During the meeting, the president reiterated the commitment of the government to make Pakistan and particularly Balochistan prosperous.

He said that the government had taken practical steps for the development of Balochistan. Aghaz-e-Haqooq-e-Balochistan Package was one example of this commitment.

Zardari said the development of Gwadar port project was another mega project that promised great benefits to the people of the area.

He said that the development of Gwadar Port project was handed over to China in order to speed up its development and to enable the people reap the dividends as early as possible.

The spokesperson said that the political situation in the province was also discussed during the meeting.

The meeting with the parliamentarians was followed by a meeting with the Ulemas representing various schools of thought.

The president called upon the need to collectively fight against the forces that breed hatred and promote militancy and sectarian killings.

Later the president also had a meeting with a delegation of the Hazara community.

Talking to the delegation, Zardari reassured them that the government would undertake every possible effort to bring the culprits involved in the attack on the Hazara community to justice.

He said that the federal government was providing every support to the provincial government in investigating the atrocities.