He was addressing a National Conference on Internal Security:Peace & Sustainable Development, organized here at Pakistan Planning and Management Institute (PPMI). The event brought together diplomats, government representatives, retired armed forces officers and students from across the country and individuals from public and private entities.
Ahsan Iqbal said new internal security policy framework is directed towards establishing a new paradigm for policy on security and peace and added a more empirical and evidence based approach focused on implementation of the goals should have been adopted.
"We have steered the country towards progress by enabling peace.
We have to take practical steps now to consolidate the gains made and improve our capabilities for new and future threats to our peace and security," he said.
The Minister said political stability plays vital role for development, which requires avoiding conflicts in all forms and manifestations. National Security has become a broad subject with social, political and economic dimensions gaining importance, he added.
"We have to believe ourselves now and this will be the way we can move. We have brilliant minds who make good policies but our only and only problem is implementation which we need to address. We must develop a comprehensive approach with the ownership of all stakeholders to succeed in implementation," he said.
Ahsan Iqbal said nature of threats is changing with technological revolution. China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) has changed Geo-Political equilibrium in the region due to which new Geo-Political pressures are developing on Pakistan.
He also stressed that youth in Pakistan constitutes a major part of the population and is an asset for the country. It is our priority to mobilize our youth towards peace and stability by providing them with enabling environment.
With regard to National Internal Security Policy 2018-2023, the Minister said ownership and participation of the key government departments as well as that of the key state institutions and broader civil society is critical for its success and implementation.
Moreover, he said that basic tenets of the policy encapsulates the four key areas to improve peace and security viz: creating a shared vision, establishing rule of law, ensuring political stability and providing social justice.
Ahsan Iqbal said CPEC has provided Pakistan record opportunities which we need to take full advantage.
He said average growth of national economy remained 5.3 per cent during last year which is expected to touch 6 per cent mark this year while Pakistan has become the fastest emerging country among comity of the nations.
"The government has managed to reshape course of national economy as per promise made in 2013 which is evident from the fact that the international rating agencies are now acknowledging Pakistan as one of the few emerging economies, who were earlier describing it a sinking economy," he said.
In his address, National Security Advisor, Lt Gen (Retd) Nasser Khan Janjua said security and economy are very important for progress and prosperity.
"We are facing a lot of issues. We shall fix everything.
We need political stability to correct all of them including rooting out terrorism and extremism," Nasser Janjua said.
He said Pakistan has suffered a lot in war on terror both in terms of lives lost and damage to economy, but international community has not looked upon our sacrifices in this war with a positive attitude.
Nasser Janjua was of the opinion that Pakistan had been successful in defeating the nefarious designs of the enemy and proof of that was that militants laid down their arms in sensitive parts of the country.