ISLAMABAD, Jan 15: President Asif Ali Zardari has said that war against terrorism and militancy must be won to revive the sagging industrial sector in the country.
“We have to triumph to protect and defend our way of life. Let me also tell you that we are fated to succeed in this war no matter what the odds and what our critics may say”, the president emphasised while addressing members of the Sarhad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI), who called on him at the presidency on Thursday. The SCCI delegation highlighted the problems they were facing in the NWFP.
NWFP Chief Minister Ameer Haider Khan Hoti, Federal ministers Makhdoom Amin Fahim, Mian Manzoor Ahmad Wattoo, Raja Pervez Ashraf, Arbab Alamgir Khan, Waqar Ahmad Khan, Najmuddin Khan, Noor-ul-Haq Qadri, and advisors on interior and finance Rehman Malik and Shaukat Tarin were also present on the occasion.
Mr Zardari said, the militants wanted to take over the state and impose their political agenda on our people but they will never be allowed to succeed. He maintained that fighting militancy was the collective responsibility of all and sundry and ‘instead of dwelling too long on the past, we should look forward and take the bull by the horn’.
The president said, after critically examining what went wrong and admitting the mistakes of the past, we must move forward and find a solution.
He advised the investment ministry and the industrialists and businessmen of the Frontier province to hold road shows in the countries of the world to highlight the industrial potential of the province and that how it had been gravely undermined by the militancy.
He said that the proposed adoption of the Alaskan model of development in which the private entrepreneurs joined hands with the state sector to set up industries and projects, would benefit both the people and the investors.
Mr Zardari said that the Chinese had shown great interest in investing in different projects in the country and the entrepreneurs from the Frontier could benefit by exploring possibilities of joint ventures with foreign investors.