Daily Times

Ahsan Zafar Bakhtawari, President of the Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI) has said that Pakistan needs a strong economy to get its due place in the international community.

He emphasised that all the stakeholders should work for steering the economy out of troubled waters and put it on the path of sustainable growth, said a press release on Saturday.

Bakhtawari said that Pakistan was endowed with a lot of natural resources, which have not been utilized yet due to a lack of good governance.

He said that there was a “great need to create a conducive environment” for business and investment in the country so that investors from all over the world are encouraged to do business and invest in Pakistan, which will improve the economy and bring prosperity to the nation.

Expressing his serious concern over the recent vandalism of government and military installations, Bakhtawari said that Pakistan was currently going through a difficult economic situation and it was the need of the hour to end the politics of division and promote national unity. “Let’s work together to make Pakistan strong because an economically strong Pakistan can provide a bright future for our upcoming generations,” he urged.

Ahsan Bakhtawari expressed regret over the desecration of martyrs’ memorials and the destruction of various properties including Jinnah House.

He said that the whole nation including the business community strongly condemns such incidents.

Bakhtawari said that Pakistan was currently facing various challenges on its borders including terrorism and its armed forces were sacrificing their lives on the front line for national defense.

He said that any kind of campaign against the defence forces means weakening Pakistan, so “every member of the nation should avoid any activity that maligns our defence forces”. The ICCI president vowed that the business community would always stand with Pakistan armed forces in their efforts to defend Pakistan and would condemn any attempt to undermine them.

Faad Waheed, Senior Vice President ICCI, said that the current situation in Pakistan demands the promotion of national unity and abandoning of sit-ins and protests.

He said that Pakistan’s neighbouring countries were moving towards rapid development, but “our country is still suffering from instability”.

Engineer Azhar ul Islam Zafar,áVice PresidentáICCIásaid that the present era was the era of economic wars and those countries were advancing in the world which are economically strong.

He said that Pakistan had the potential to emerge as a strong country, “so it is necessary that the leadership of the country should rise above their personal differences and keep national interests supreme”.