LAHORE: Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif has announced setting up of a joint action committee for improving security arrangements of universities, calling protection of students and teachers of private and public universities a collective responsibility to be discharged efficiently.

He said this at a meeting of vice-chancellors of public and private universities of the province on Thursday.

Ministers, government officials and vice-chancellors will be members of the committee, which will be autonomous in financial and administrative matters regarding security arrangements.

Mr Sharif said that there would be no shortage of resources for the purpose.

The meeting which lasted for four hours, security arrangements for all public and private universities were reviewed in detail and various proposals were presented in this regard.

Mr Sharif also called for fighting on ideological fronts in the war against terrorism and stressed the need for evolving a counter terrorism narrative. The universities, he said, would have to play a leading role.

He issued instructions for setting up a committee for evolving counter-terrorism narrative, adding it would consist of vice-chancellors of private and public universities, intellectuals and educationists.

The chief minister directed the administration of universities to ensure complete implementation of the security plan.

Provincial ministers Rana Sanaullah, Rana Mashhood, the chief secretary, the inspector-general of police, the home secretary, secretaries, chairman of the Punjab Higher Education Commission and vice-chancellors attended the meeting.