RAWALPINDI: Establishment of a task force under the prime minister for a roadmap to facilitate indigenous defence production and digital parks to tap software industry potential were among the key recommendations made by a seminar on defence production on Friday.

The two-day seminar titled ‘National Defence Production-Security through Self-Reliance’ concluded with a note to maximise defence production with the help of private sector.

The seminar aimed at paving the way for self-reliance by exploring indigenous defence production potential, identifying organisational and institutional challenges of defence industry, pragmatic solutions to optimise defence production and recommending policy level measures to boost private sector participation in the defence production of the country.

Members from different ministries, public and private organisations, chamber of commerce and Industries, defence production establishments and members of academia participated in the seminar.

Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa thanked participants for giving time to an important issue concerning the national security. The COAS said that there was a need for enhanced public-private partnership to make Pakistan defence industry into vibrant, self-reliant and self-sustained entity.

Published in Dawn, July 20th, 2019