‘Pakistan suffered colossal losses as frontline state in war on terrorism’

Sindh Governor Mohammad Zubair has said Pakistan has suffered colossal material and human losses owing to its active and important role in the global fight against the menace of terrorism.

He said this as he met on Monday a 66-member delegation comprising officers attending the Air War Course of the Air War College of the Pakistan Air Force in Karachi. The delegation, which met Zubair at the Governor House, comprised officers of the Pakistan Air Force and air forces of the friendly countries of Saudi Arabia, China, Iran, Egypt, Oman, Bangladesh, Nigeria, Jordan, Malaysia and Zimbabwe.

The governor said that despite suffering heavy losses, Pakistan had been steadfast in its resolve to take every step possible for the sake of global peace and security and to defeat the menace of terrorism.

He said the terrorist attack on the Army Public School in Peshawar in December, 2014, had made the entire nation restless and awakened as they decided with complete unity to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the armed forces of the country to annihilate terrorists from the country.

After the normalisation of the peace situation and overcoming terrorism, the government had started working on new mega projects to resolve energy and electricity crises in the country, he said, adding that owing to the completion of new mega projects, the menace of power loadshedding had been overcome to a large extent.

He said stability in peace and the energy situation in the country had helped a lot to boost and strengthen the economy of the country. The governor told the delegation that Karachi had become an attractive destination for prospective foreign investors after the normalisation of law and order in the city owing to the efforts of the government, which launched a targeted operation after coming into power in the year 2013.

He said that before launch of the operation in Karachi, prospective investors were reluctant to visit Karachi due to its worsening law and order situation. He said the government authorities on some occasions in the past had been required to visit Dubai or Islamabad to meet international trade delegations over their refusal to visit Karachi.

He said that personnel of law-enforcement agencies had rendered innumerable sacrifices for the restoration of peace in the city as the entire nation fully acknowledged their sacrifices. The governor said that the under-constriction China Pakistan Economic Corridor project would go a long way in respect of industrialisation, infrastructure development, poverty alleviation and the provision of massive job opportunities to educated youths.

Zubair remarked that the final match of the Pakistan Super League had been played in Karachi showing well that the city was all set to host more such international level sporting and cultural events in future. He said foreign cricketers who had participated in the PSL final match had acknowledged the peaceful status of Karachi like any other global city.

The governor maintained that industrial infrastructure of the city was being improved for attracting more foreign investment. To a question, he said the economy of the country would further improve with the passage of time owing to the continuing improvement and stability in law and order, peace, energy, trade and industry in Pakistan.