ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday condemned the raising of slogans by certain participants against the state institutions at a conference held in Lahore on Sunday and stressed showing more responsibility at the public level.

“We are determined to ensure the freedom of expression of every citizen,” the PM Office Media Wing in a statement quoted the prime minister as saying.

The statement said that the government itself provided such forums for the citizens to express their views and difference of opinion over issues of public importance.

The prime minister regretted the use of such forums for political purposes and targeting of the state institutions, especially the armed forces, saying that their officers and Jawans had been sacrificing their lives for the protection of the country and securing it against all internal and external threats.

He assured the nation that they would ensure the basic right of the freedom of expression and said that he condemned the unnecessary slogans, raised against the state institutions.