The senior leadership of the Pakistan Army on Monday vowed to fully support the incumbent government’s economic revival plan, including through all possible technical and management support, according to a statement issued by the military’s media wing.
The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said the 258th Corps Commanders’ Conference (CCC) met at the General Headquarters in Rawalpindi under the chair of Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Gen. Asim Munir. It said the forum had been informed about the government’s economic revival plan and the envisioned role of the Army in uplifting agriculture, I.T., mining and minerals and defense production sectors under the ambit of Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC).
“The participants vowed to fully support the strategic initiatives planned by the Government of Pakistan for the revival of the economy by providing all possible technical and management support for the overall good of the people of Pakistan,” it added.
Unveiling its economic revival plan last month, the government had said it would focus on utilizing the untapped potential of several key sectors, as well as expediting development projects and facilitating investment. It announced that the Army chief would be included in the SIFC formed by P.M. Shehbaz Sharif to enable a “single-window” platform for economic revival, adding that the military would complement the government’s efforts to overcome the economic challenges facing the country.
During the CCC meeting, the participants paid rich tribute to the soldiers martyred in defense of their motherland against the threat of terrorism. The ISPR said the military officials were given a detailed briefing on the prevailing internal security environment. “The sanctuaries and liberty of action available to the terrorists of proscribed TTP [Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan] and other groups of that ilk in a neighboring country, and availability of latest weapons to the terrorists, were noted as major reasons impacting security of Pakistan,” it said, referring to Afghanistan.
Last week, in a statement citing the Army chief, the ISPR had expressed “serious concerns” over TTP militants finding safe havens in Afghanistan and warned of an “effective response” if the Taliban-led interim government failed to prevent its soil from being used to perpetrate terrorism against any country, in line with commitments made in the Doha Agreement.
The ISPR said the CCC had also deliberated in detail on the operational preparedness and training aspects of the Army. “Objective training remains the hallmark of our professionalism and we must always remain prepared to guard against any threat to our national security,” it quoted the Army chief as informing the participants.