President General Pervez Musharraf on Thursday said that there is no choice other than big dams to ensure sustainable growth of the country''s economy that mainly depends upon the agriculture sector for which Pakistan is required to build three big dams by 2016.
The President, who is also the chancellor of the Lahore University of Management and Science (Lums), stated this while addressing the 17th Convocation of the University.
"Pakistan has agro-based economy while its industry also depends upon the agriculture. If the agriculture sector does not rise, the national economy would not be able to sustain, therefore, the country needs big water reservoirs", he added.
Musharraf said there are some ''irritants'' in Balochistan, which have kept the entire nation hostage due to disruption in gas supply. Apart from this, there is a permanent threat to the engineers engaged in economic activities, including oil and gas exploration in the area, he added.
The Frontier Corps is dealing with such irritants and fighting in self-defence in some parts of Balochistan to eradicate root causes of extremism and terrorism, he said.
Talking about foreign investment, Musharraf said that foreign direct investment (FDI) has increased from $300 million in 1999 to $1.6 billion, adding at present, Pakistan is among top 10 world countries, which have introduced investor-friendly policies.
The aggressive strategy adopted by the government would help bring more foreign investment and it is moving in the right direction, he added.
About the economy, he said that macro-economic indicators are positive while stock index is moving up, while the foreign exchange reserves are also on the rise.
The President said the country''s debt has declined from $38 billion to $35 billion, which is a healthy sign, while the present debt ratio to the GDP stands at 59 percent against over 100 percent in 1999, compared to 60 percent of the European countries.
"We have achieved 8.4 percent economic growth last year, and set target of 7 percent for the current financial year due to increasing oil prices in the international markets", he maintained.
"We have also introduced sustainable democracy in the country through devolution of powers at the grassroots level by strengthening the local government system. The National Security Council (NSC) was constituted to keep checks and balances on three power brokers - the President, the Prime Minister and the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) - so that assemblies'' dissolution as happened in 1990 decade, could be averted.
The uniform is not an issue and real task is to empower workers, minorities and public. Democracy is ensuring freedom of press and the man in uniform has issued considerable number of licenses to the private television channels", he maintained.
Highlighting achievements made in education sector, he said the government is focusing on quality of education and paying attention to promote science, engineering and technology which is base of country''s industry.
The budgetary allocation for higher education was just Rs 600 million in 1999 that has now increased to Rs 22 billion, he added.
To promote education in science, engineering and technology, five science and engineering universities are being established in collaboration with Japan, Germany, France, South Korea and Sweden by 2010, he said. At present, the country is producing only 700 PhDs, which would be enhanced to 1,500 per annum within next three years, he asserted.
The President also said the government is allocating more funds to the universities for development of libraries and laboratories to equip them with latest equipment. The developmental funds are being diverted to modernise the universities, he added.
"We are also equally focusing on improving the literacy rate at the grassroots level through universal and adult education. The literacy rate would be given a boost by the end of 2006", he added.
Over 200 PhDs have come back to Pakistan due to incentives provided by the Higher Education Commission of Pakistan, he said, adding: "Our direction is right and objectives are clear, and we only need to implement them to move forward."
He also said the government is focusing on human resource development and poverty alleviation without which no country can make progress.
Musharraf said: "The government is taking necessary steps to remove confusion about Urdu and English mediums in the education system, as Urdu is our national language and thus needs to be promoted, while English language also needs to be encouraged for the higher education.
The curriculum is being devised in such a way that one student has to opt some subjects in Urdu language and some in English at primary and secondary levels in all the educational institutions, he said.
As a result of educational reforms, the University Grants Commission has been converted into Higher Education Commission and 57 universities of the country are connected with each other which would enhance quality of education while students have access to 16,000 journals in the digital libraries of the universities, he said.
The President said: "The government is also focusing on demand-based technical education to strengthen industrial base in the country. Due to earthquake in Azad Kashmir and NWFP, there is great scope for the technical people in the field of telecommunication and construction. We also want to make Madressahs education compatible", he said.
Responding to the demand of Lums Pro-Chancellor for Rs 1.5 billion help to construct the School of Science and Engineering at LUMS, the President assured that necessary funds would be made available and asked the university''s authorities to start construction.
Lums Pro-Chancellor Syed Babar Ali and its Rector Razak Dawood also spoke on the occasion and highlighted achievements and future plans of the University.
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