NP newsroom
The Pakistani military’s media Inter Services Public Relations department said the other day that Chief of Army Staff Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa told a group of businessmen that Pakistan’s “improved internal security environment” had “created space for increased economic activity”.
Social media was abuzz with news of the meeting, primarily asking why the businessmen had approached the Army boss directly instead of discussing their woes with the government.
Gen Bajwa addressed the businessmen and the government’s economic team at the concluding session of a series of discussions and seminars titled ‘Interplay of economy and Security’ at the Army Auditorium in Rawalpindi.
Gen Bajwa told these Pakistani business tycoons at the dinner meeting that national security was intimately linked to the economy. “Accessibility and responsiveness of the government economic team to the business community and the displayed understanding between public and private institutions is a good sign for the desired positive trajectory in economic activity,” Gen Bajwa, who is also part of the National Development Council, was reported to have told the audience.
The government’s economic team, on the other hand, had apprised the attendees about the initiatives and measures being taken by the government to facilitate business and stabilise the economy, while the businessmen gave their suggestions to improve business facilitation.
According to the ISPR, the businessmen said they “would cooperate with the authorities to ensure that government policies are implemented” and would “play their part” by paying taxes and investing in a “socially and economically responsible manner”.
