A strong army needs massive resources at hand to confront the enemy. These resources include adequate tactical supplies, nutrition, training, and etcetera.
Islam teaches us to be prepared to defend our motherland and unprovoked Indian aggression has called for such a situation. Our neighbor must realize that aggression is only paving the way out for regional instability, which goes in no one’s favor. As a nuclear-armed country, Pakistan is well equipped to defend itself. There is a direct relationship between economic security and defense for that matter, Pakistan can only dedicate resources to defense if the economy can sustain such resource allocation.
All stakeholders including the civil-military officials, technocrats, businesspersons and other fellow compatriots should pitch in to contribute towards the economic growth of their country. Lack of resources will only aggravate the situation. We need to revive our existing government departments back on foot. We as a nation have certain responsibilities. To begin with, we must promote our local industry by decreasing our imports and encouraging local products. A positive outlook on the balance of payment will be an advantage and a much-needed initiative right now.
We must realize that without a strong economy we may not be able to survive. I urge the prime minister of Pakistan to undertake necessary precautions to stimulate growth in the country.
UMAR BIN ABDUL AZIZ,
Islamabad, March 14.