Monitoring Desk
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Friday appreciated the diligent efforts of Pakistan’s premier spy agency -Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) for national security and expressed his satisfaction over professional preparedness, a statement from the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said.
The premier expressed these views during a visit to the ISI Secretariat along with his key ministers and chief ministers of Balochistan and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.
The statement said that Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa, Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Muhammad Amjad Khan Niazi and Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal Zaheer Ahmad Babar were also present.
According to PM’s Office, a comprehensive briefing was given to the civil and military leadership on the national security and regional dynamics with a focus on the ongoing situation in Afghanistan.
On the occasion, the premier lauded the diligent efforts of ISI for national security and expressed his satisfaction over their professional preparedness.
Earlier, Lieutenant Director General Inter Services Intelligence General Faiz Hamid welcomed the dignitaries upon their arrival at the secretariat.
In May, another such meeting took place when the premier and General Qamar visited the ISI headquarters and received a comprehensive briefing.
In July, President Arif Alvi had visited the headquarters and received a briefing on national security dynamics including the situation in Afghanistan.
“President, being keenly interested in the subject, was also briefed on cyber-security,” a press release had stated.
The communiqué further added that the president appreciated the ISI’s efforts for national security and expressed his satisfaction over their professional preparedness.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Imran Khan has said the international community cannot “exonerate” itself from its responsibilities towards the Afghan people after 20 years of military intervention in the war-torn country and urged the same countries to stay engaged with Kabul.
In an interview with foreign magazine Newsweek, the premier said decades of war has had a devastating impact on Afghanistan’s economy, society, and polity and there is a “ray of hope” to bring peace and stability to the country and the broader region.
The premier, however, warned that if rivalry persists with Afghanistan and between global and regional powers, it could lead to more suffering and conflict in Afghanistan.
“This would create new flow of refugees, escalate the threat of terrorism from Afghanistan, and destabilize the entire region.”
“The last thing Pakistan wants is more conflict and turbulence in Afghanistan,” reiterated the premier, adding that it is Islamabad’s hope that the country would be “stabilized, through humanitarian help, economic support, and connectivity and infrastructure projects, and that the US, China and Russia will all contribute to pacifying and reconstructing Afghanistan”.
Furthermore, speaking of concerns over the pace of progress on CPEC projects slowing, PM Imran stated that the Covid-19 pandemic may have slowed down the progress of the project.
This year’s theme of the UNGA session is: “Building resilience through hope – to recover from Covid-19, rebuild sustainability, respond to the needs of the planet, respect the rights of people, and revitalise the United Nations”.
So far, the leaders of Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, the United Kingdom, the United States, China, Iran, Qatar, Turkey, South Korea, Democratic Republic of Congo, Iraq, Chad, Zimbabwe, Panama, Cuba, South Africa and Brazil have addressed the UNGA session.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Imran Khan has launched the Digital Media Development Program and said that information technology (IT) is a big opportunity for the youth.
PM Imran Khan, while addressing the launching ceremony of the Digital Media Development Program in Islamabad on Friday, urged the youth not to underestimate themselves and asked to always set big targets for them.
The premier said that he was happy to see the launching of the Digital Media Development Program for Pakistani youth. He said that the world is going towards digital media and youth were now becoming billionaires in the modern era.
He urged people to make collective efforts for the development of the country instead of prioritising personal benefits. The ideology of the creation of Pakistan was to form an Islamic welfare state and an Islamic state would never bow head at any cost.
Imran Khan said that the past rulers had forced the nationals to bow heads before the big powers, however, the current government wants to make the country a dignified and self-sufficient state.
“For the first time, every citizen is possessing its own health insurance card for getting free medical facilities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP). Even in the developed countries like the United States (US), every citizen doesn’t have health insurance facility.”
Regarding the propaganda against Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) led government, Imran Khan said that 70 per cent of reports proved false against the current government during the last three years. He said that the opponents should criticise the government but it should be based on truth.
The premier said that media is fully independent in the PTI-led government and not a single government in the past had allowed the freedom of speech.
Digital Media Development Program, a flagship initiative as per the vision of PM Imran Khan is launched by Digital Media Wing, Ministry of Information & Broadcasting in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) focusing on the development and growth of the Digital Media Ecosystem of Pakistan. – NNI