It is a bitter fact that Pakistan continues to face many internal and external challenges and threats which have to be faced and overcome fighting these boldly, courageously and daringly as usual in a determined manner. No doubt lot has been achieved under Zarb-e-Azb operation and the National Action Plan in elimination of militancy, extremism and terrorism from the sacred soil of the motherland but the war on terror is still continuing and will continue till the militants, terrorists, their collaborators and facilitators are completely eliminated. All measures being taken against these anti-State and anti-people elements quite obviously involve quite heavy expenditures.
Quite rightly and timely, the Federal Government has proposed to establish National Security Fund for financing all these activities to effectively cope with security challenges and war on terror in order to achieve desirable objectives in satisfactory manner at the earliest possible. For ensuring continuation of appreciable pace of economic progress and development, the country has to be made safe and secure for the people and also for the foreign investors.
According to the reports, the proposed National Security Fund will be established with 3 per cent of National Finance Commission (NFC) Award divisible pool of resources between the Federal Government and four units of the Federation i.e. the Punjab, Sindh, Khyber Pukhtoonkhwah and Balochistan only after consultation and approval of the provinces.
For meeting the security challenges, 29 more civil armed wings of the armed are being established in addition to existing 28 such wings and also North Security Division is also being raised to meet security requirements of 46 billion dollars comprehensive China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project. It is also good to note the assertion by the federal government that if the National Security Fund is established with okay by the provinces, it will only be used to meet arrangements and for no other purpose whatsoever.
Security related issues and challenges are of great national importance and it is hopefully expected that the provinces will accord their approval for the establishment of the proposed much needed and essential National Security Fund when it is deliberated in the upcoming meetings of the National Finance Commission. The sooner it is established the better it would be for the country and the nation as all security concerns and challenges are to be faced by all of us with greater national unity to say the least, please.
- Z. Rifat,
Lahore
