ISDLAMABAD: President Dr Arif Alvi on Thursday stressed the need for strengthening cyber security of the country.

Addressing the Convocation Ceremony at the National Defence University (NDU) the president said in the past, hundreds of thousands of innocent people were killed in Iraq based on the fake reports of Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD).

“It is a fact that enmities among nations, in the past, had been created based on fake news,” the president said.

He said that Islam strongly discouraged the spread of fake and unverified news as it created panic, chaos and destruction in society.

“The world used fake news as a tool to justify wars against other nations,” the president said.

He said for Pakistan, the shortest way to success was contemporary intellectual change and hoped that Pakistan, in the rapidly changing world, could emerge as a power by gaining stronghold in the upcoming ‘global intellectual revolution’.

He said the exponential transformation of the cyber world had witnessed a shift in strategies – relating to both military and public domains that demanded a readiness on part of the country to timely grasp the situation and take serious steps to strengthen the cyber-security of the country.

Highlighting the importance of information technology, the president emphasized the fact that Pakistan needed to take advantage of the 4th Industrial Revolution which would enormously help in the socio-economic development of the country.

“I am greatly optimistic about Pakistan, which has the capacity to show its power through advanced learning, and decisions based on compassion and morality,” he said.

The course was attended by the military officers of Pakistan, and other friendly countries including Bahrain, Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Nepal, Nigeria, Sri Lanka and the United Arab Emirates.

President Alvi said the people of Pakistan had the will to turn the tide in their favour during challenging times. He recalled that in response to India’s “so-called peaceful” nuclear explosion in 1974, Pakistan in short period of time joined the list of nuclear countries for the purpose of deterrence due to its strong resolve and determination.

“This shows that Pakistani nation can do miracles by pursuing its goals with a clear intent,” he added.

The president expressed the confidence that Pakistan would rise among the comity of nations with the help of contemporary knowledge

Referring to the illegal uranium trade in India, the President regretted that no action at international level was taken, so far, despite authentic reports, which showed the world’s “preferential and biased treatment” towards different countries.

NDU President Lt. Gen Mohammad Saeed highlighted that NDU had proved itself as a premier seat of learning by promoting critical thinking and research-based knowledge among participants of the course.

Earlier, the president conferred degrees upon the graduates of the National Defence University.

Published in Dawn, July 2nd, 2021