PESHAWAR, June 1: NWFP Governor Syed Iftikhar Hussain Shah said here on Saturday the government was firmly committed to the security as well as development and prosperity of Pakistan.

Talking to a 60-member representative delegation of the Sarhad Chamber of Commerce and Industries, which called on him under the leadership of its President Malik Zahid Hussain, he said the spirit of devotion, sacrifice and honesty towards the national cause had never been so much needed as today.

The traders community by maintaining its past golden traditions, he said, would play its due role for the security and defence of the country. Provincial Minister for Industries and Commerce Mohsin Aziz was also present on the occasion.

With the grace of Allah Almighty, the governor said, Pakistan was the sole atomic power in the Islamic world and it had got this honour mainly due to self-sacrificing spirit of the nation together with the concrete and courageous policies adopted by the governments in the past.

The nation, he said, must become united and demonstrate higher degree of the spirit of sacrifice towards the national interest as compared to the past.

Referring to the financial position of the country, Iftikhar said, the foreign reserves were at the lowest ebb at the time the present government took over power and the country was at the brink of being declared defaulter but, at present, with the grace of Allah Almighty more than five billion dollars were in the kitty, which was an unprecedented example in the history of Pakistan.

He stressed upon the traders community to ensure national prosperity by paying taxes with honesty as the defence of the country was also dependent on them.

Paying tributes to the valuable services rendered by the traders community in the past, Iftikhar expressed the confidence that in future, too, they would never hesitate in offering any sort of sacrifice in the hour of need.

On a point raised by the delegates regarding the prevailing tax recovery process, he asked the traders community to constitute a committee to prioritise their grievances so that suitable actions could be taken for their redressal.

He, however, assured that the problems about the federal government would be brought to its notice.—APP