ISLAMABAD: President Dr Arif Alvi has said that armed forces are committed to performing their mandated functions as per the Constitution. Therefore, all politicians should commit themselves to democratic means of negotiations, consultations and deliberations to forge consensus on issues confronting the nation and reduce polarisation to achieve financial and economic stability in the country.
The president expressed these views while addressing the concluding session of Islamabad Conclave-2022, titled “75 Years of Independence: Achieving Comprehensive National Security”, organised by the Institute of Strategic Studies, Islamabad, (ISSI).
In his address, the president said that in the past, the superpowers adopted the doctrine of Mutually-Assured Destruction, which diverted resources of the world towards meeting and developing more lethal weapon systems.
He added that even if a fraction of these resources were diverted, the poverty and hunger in the world could have been eliminated as well as the effects of climate change could have been mitigated.
He added that democracy, military defence, information, and communication security, and economic independence were essential elements for a comprehensive defence of the country.
He said that the Constitution of Pakistan safeguarded the rights of all the citizens equally irrespective of their social status, wealth or influence. He said that justice should be served promptly and cheaply without any discrimination which would help the country to move forward on a fast-track basis.
The president said that information was another vital element of national security as disinformation could be used to destroy the country and mislead innocent populations.
He said that disinformation regarding Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMDs) led to a major conflict in the Middle East, which resulted in the loss of many precious lives and the destruction of property and assets.
He stated that Pakistan acquired nuclear deterrence, which provided the country relief and a credible defence system for 20 to 30 years but with the advent of cyber security, the entire defence system paradigm had changed. He added that concrete steps should be taken to safeguard the national assets from cyber security attacks and a system should be set in place for countering any future cyber-attacks in the country.
The president said that the country’s higher education institutions should avoid refusing admission to students in the major institutions of the country, adding that all aspiring students should be given admission to increase the number of persons with higher education.
He said that the Higher Education Commission (HEC) should take decisive and concrete steps to increase the capacity and capabilities of higher education institutions by adopting out-of-the-box solutions and bringing in hybrid and online teaching systems to ensure that all aspiring students could be accommodated in the higher education system.
While talking about population control, he said that there was a need to remove taboos attached to the preventive methods of population control and ensure the availability of contraceptives. This, he said, could reduce unwanted pregnancies, which were 50 per cent of the total pregnancies that takes place in the country.
Dr Aisha Pasha, Minister of State for Finance and Revenue, in her address, said that economic and human security are linked and differentiation between the two should not be made as both impact the lives of the people.
She said that Pakistan is at a low level of human security stemming from extreme poverty, food insecurity, energy insecurity, and low levels of employment in the country.
Dr Pasha further highlighted that Pakistan has a youth bulge, but has not absorbed into the productive workforce. She further added that inclusive growth is missing in Pakistan and hindering its economic development. Therefore, structural changes need to be implemented to improve national security, she added.
Other panellists included Dr Hassan Abbas, Founding Member, Zizak; Dr Idrees Khawaja, Senior Research Economist, Pakistan Institute of Development Economics; Dr Shabnum Sarfraz Former Member, Ministry of Planning, Development and Reforms; and Shahrukh Wani Economist, International Growth Centre, University of Oxford, also addressed a session, moderated by Dr Neelum Nigar Director CSP.
The Director General of ISSI, Ambassador Aizaz Ahmed Chaudhary, also briefed the participants on the discussion held in the two-day Islamabad Conclave.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2022
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