LAHORE: SAARC Chamber vice president and United Business Group (UBG) chairman Iftikhar Ali Malik on Monday said economy and security are two sides of the same coin and political stability, security and peace are pre-requisites for a viable and compatible economy.
Hailing a decision for organizing a seminar on the important issue of ‘Interplay of Economy and Security’ jointly arranged by Federation of Pakistan Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Inter Services Public Relations to be chaired by Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa on 11 October in Karachi. Iftikhar Ali Malik termed it a step forward to understand the hovering security threats and bleak national economy. He said the economy badly needs a durable and sustainable secure business-friendly environment for development while security creates the pre-conditions for viable economic growth and integration into the regional and global economy.
He hoped that all important issues confronting the national economy and security will be well discussed by leading scholars and veteran trade leaders including Federation of Pakistan Chamber of Commerce and Industry President Zubair Tufail. He said that this seminar will also provide an opportunity to share their concerns with top military brass and help evolve a viable strategy to offset security threats and work out a plan to strengthen the national economy with active participation by the people from all walks of life and business community.
He said, in today’s world a strong economy translates into greater military power, the weaker the economy the weaker the military power. He said in prevailing global scenario, the survival of the nation or state mainly and exclusively depends on a sound economy. He recalled that USSR, a superpower was dismembered because of a financial crunch.
He said the importance of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) can never be undermined, especially for a developing country like Pakistan. Averaging a little more than $ 1 billion annually, FDI has shown a sign of improvement after a long time with 10 per cent year-on-year to cross the $ 1 billion mark during the last fiscal year. “Pakistan needs to increase its mobilization of foreign resources, this includes remittances by our expatriates through recognized channels,” adding he said with falling domestic and foreign investments, the current policy of consumption-led growth is threatening even to maintain the present low economic growth.
Iftikhar Ali Malik said CPEC will play a major role in boosting Pakistan’s economy by around 2-2.5 per cent point annual growth and it is expected to create approximately 700,000 direct jobs by 2030. CPEC has the potential to deeply reshape Pakistan’s economic standing and overall role in the region and this is only possible when security will be maintained at every cost.
Appreciating the role of the Pakistan army to eliminate the menace of terrorism in Balochistan, the veteran trade leader said the military has rendered invaluable assistance by setting up a Special Security Division (SSD) comprising of 15,000 troops, including 9,000 Pakistan Army soldiers and 6,000 para-military forces personnel to protect the CPEC.
He said more than 80,000 Pakistanis, including 48,000 civilians, have been killed in the decade-long US war against terrorism in Pakistan, awhile Pakistan faced trillions of dollars of loss in business and other sectors. “Pakistan has rendered enormous sacrifices in the war against terrorism and no country has the right to criticise it in this regard,” he maintained.
He further said “The threat that we face today is primarily supported and financed from outside our borders,” adding he said we are confident that our armed forces will continue to defeat these forces too.
He said that neither the human nor financial losses have diminished Pakistan’s commitment to fighting this menace, adding that it has only reinforced “our will to fight until the last terrorist is eliminated from our soil.”
