ISLAMABAD, Aug 27: President Pervez Musharraf said on Tuesday that the law and order situation in the country could not be improved overnight because of a host of reasons. He, however, said a long-term strategy had been put in place to overcome the situation.

Speaking at the 25th Export Trophy Awards ceremony of the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI), the president urged the business community to play its role in combating the law and order problem.

The president was responding to a point raised by the FPCCI President, Iftikhar Ali Malik, who had stated that recent terrorist incidents in the country had sent negative signals to the international community, specially to the foreign buyers and investors. Iftikhar Malik said the law and order situation in the country and particularly in Karachi had to be improved considerably if we want the business to flourish.

“I assure you that no government in the past has put so much emphasis on law and order as did the present government. Around 30 top criminals have been put behind the bars who were never even named in the past, and those who are now operating, are the third-stage stingers,” said President Musharraf.

The president asked the business community to be patient and give time to the government efforts to materialize. “We are improving the strategy by imparting training to the personnel of law enforcement agencies to enhance their capabilities, introducing them with the latest methods of investigation and equipping them with modern equipment to strengthen their investigation capabilities. We will improve law and order. The strategy is in action but this will take time to improve,” said the president.

He asked the exporters to shift their focus from the export of traditional items to the engineering sector to reach an export target of $70 billion to $80 billion within the next few years because engineering was the route to the future progress.

The president said that Pakistan’s exports increased from $1 billion to $9 billion in 50 years, while the exports of China increased from $2 billion to $240 billion. The exports of Malaysia, Korea and Thailand have also crossed $80 billion level, all because of their progress in the engineering sector, the president said.

Foreseeing future of the nation in the medium and hi-tech engineering, the president said the government was concentrating on creating a linkage between the education and industry as a part of futuristic strategy.

He also advised the business community to go for the new and emerging markets, particularly China, instead of traditional concentration on Europe. The world, he said, was going to change rapidly and China which was our old friend, was ready to give preferential treatment to Pakistani businessmen. “Take advantage of this and also concentrate on South Asian region and Africa to diversify exports,” the president emphasized.

President Musharraf, who gave away about 134 awards to leading exporters and office-bearers of the FPCCI, said the government had decided to grant civil awards to best performing businessmen, include them in official delegations visiting foreign countries and appoint them members of the official advisory bodies.

He said despite difficult economic situation, the country was able to export goods worth $9.2 billion due to the prudent policies of the government and dedication of the business community.

The president told the businessmen they would to be competitive in view of the fact that it would only be the survival of the fittest when quotas and trade barriers were eliminated in January 2003.

He said the government was taking corrective measures in the trade policy areas through liberalisation but the businessmen would also have to rise to the challenges and get benefits of the globalised market.