ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad Chamber of Small Traders on Sunday lauded the Chief of the Army Staff, General Qamar Javed Bajwa, for assuring the nation that armed forces were ready to meet the security challenges to the CPEC projects. Gen. Bajwa recently said that security forces were “fully prepared” to meet all security challenges to the projects of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and Chinese nationals living in the country, which was a timely statement, said Patron Islamabad Chamber of Small Traders Shahid Rasheed Butt. He said that a Special Security Division (SSD) had been established which would provide security to the Chinese on CPEC and non-CPEC projects which was a good move to thwart the conspiracies of the enemies of Pakistan. The game changer project faced threats from both regional and external players therefore the SSD should be given all the facilities and equipment to deal with the threat, he demanded. Shahid Rasheed Butt said security had been a major concern for the Chinese and they had emphasised this time and again. He said that there existed no ambiguity in the minds of Pakistani masses that the completion of CPEC was most important for the economic uplift of Pakistan. An enemy country had launched a campaign against CPEC. Initially India tried to mislead the people of Pakistan that CPEC would give way to Chinese imperialism. Her next step was to tell the masses through is proxies that some areas and people were being marginalised under the adopted route of the CPEC but the plan failed. In the third step the country tried to persuade the Chinese leadership to abandon the project. The Chinese leadership however rejected the persuasion and decided to go ahead with the construction of CPEC. For a better economic integration the enemy country must end conspiracies against the CPEC and cooperate with Pakistan for its early completion, which would reduce the poverty level in the whole region. agencies Savings: Islamabad Chambers of Commerce and Industry (ICCI) has lauded the Federal Minister for Finance Senator Muhammad Ishaq Dar for his resolve to promote culture of savings saying it is necessary to stabilize the economy. Former President ICCI, Atif Ikram Sheikh on Sunday said that the business community supports the decision of the Finance Minister and will fully cooperate in promoting the culture of savings in the country. He said that the government has launched first ever registered Premium Prize Bond worth Rs 40000 which is a laudable move as it will help country move towards the target of national savings of twenty percent announced by the Finance Minister. Atif Ikram Sheikh said that Finance Minister has revived an economy which was on the verge of default few years back and now he is taking steps aimed at economic stability which were going down very well in the business community. His decision to take loan from people through bonds instead of multilateral institutions is a good move which must be supported by the masses. The ICCI former President said that government should also launch a bond of one hundred thousand rupees and decision to register they buyer will stop the misuse of the bonds which are used to whiten the black money. The business leader said that banks should be asked to stop giving negative return to the consumers and the number as well as efficiency of the national saving centres should be increased to make it accessible to the masses. The negative interest by banks and unnecessary fluctuation in the interest rates of different national saving schemes are hindering promotion of culture of savings which should be fixed by the policymakers, he demanded. Pakistan’s economic progress is being accepted internationally and all economic indicators are showing an upward trend. International economic experts see Pakistan among the top twenty economies of the world by 2030, said Atif Ikram Sheikh.