President Alvi urges politicians to commit to democratic means for reducing political polarization
Says armed forces were committed to perform their mandated functions as per the Constitution
Says there was a need to remove taboos attached to the preventive methods of population control & ensure availability of contraceptives
Says discrimination against differently-abled people condemnable
ISLAMABAD ( Web News )
President Dr. Arif Alvi has said that armed forces were committed to perform their mandated functions as per the Constitution, therefore, all politicians should commit themselves to democratic means of negotiations, consultations and deliberations to achieve consensus on issues confronted to the nation and reduce political polarization to achieve financial and economic stability in the country.
President Dr. Arif Alvi expressed these views while addressing the concluding session of Islamabad Conclave-2022, titled “75 Years of Independence: Achieving Comprehensive National Security”, in Islamabad on Thursday. Addressing the occasion, the President said that in the past the superpowers adopted the doctrine of Mutually Assured Destruction, which diverted resources of the world towards meeting and developing more lethal weapon systems. He added that even if a fraction of these resources were diverted, the poverty and hunger in the world could have been eliminated as well as the effects of climate change could have been mitigated.
He added that democracy, military defence, information and communication security, and economic independence were essential elements for a comprehensive defence of the country. He said that the Constitution of Pakistan safeguarded the rights of all the citizens equally irrespective of their social status, wealth or influence. He said that justice should be served promptly and cheaply without any discrimination which would help the country to move forward on a fast-track basis.
President Dr. Arif Alvi said that information was another vital element of national security as disinformation could be used to destroy the country and mislead innocent populations. He said that disinformation regarding Weapons of Mass Destruction led to a major conflict in the Middle East, which resulted in the loss of many precious lives and the destruction of property and assets. He stated that Pakistan acquired nuclear deterrence, which provided the country relief and a credible defence system for 20 to 30 years but with the advent of cyber security, the entire defence system paradigm had changed. He added that concrete steps should be taken to safeguard the national assets from cyber security attacks and a system should be set in place for countering any future cyber-attacks in the country.
President Dr. Arif Alvi said that our Higher Education Institutions should avoid refusing admission to students in the major institutions of the country, adding that all aspiring students should be given admission to increase the number of persons with higher education. He said that the Higher Education Commission should take decisive and concrete steps to increase the capacity and capabilities of Higher Education Institutions by adopting out-of-the-box solutions and bringing in hybrid and online teaching systems to ensure that all aspiring students could be accommodated in the higher education system.
While talking about population control, he said that there was a need to remove taboos attached to the preventive methods of population control and ensure the availability of contraceptives. This, he said, could reduce unwanted pregnancies, which were 50% of the total pregnancies that takes place in the country.
The Director General of ISSI, Ambassador Aizaz Ahmed Chaudhary, briefed the participants about the issues discussed at the conclave. He informed that discussions were held on topics such as Defence and Security, the Search for Peace in South Asia, Pakistan’s Economic Frontiers, the Pursuit of Geo-Economics, and Pakistan’s Human and Economic Security.
Keynote Speaker, F.S Aijazuddin, termed population as the major issue on the internal front whereas relations with India were the major issue on the external front. He also highlighted the major challenges in the way of enhancing regional connectivity.
Meanwhile President Dr. Arif Alvi has said that any discrimination, taboo, disrespect or stereotype associated with differently-abled people (DAPs) was highly condemnable, adding that persons with disabilities (PWDs) were as mentally capable as any other person. He said that as a society, we should change our attitudes towards DAPs and create inclusiveness in all respects of life, remove barriers in their movement in any part of the public places and buildings, impart them with skills and create jobs, which suit and correspond to their respective disability.
President Dr. Arif Alvi expressed these views while addressing a ceremony in connection with the International Day for Persons with Disabilities (PWDs), at Aiwan-e-Sadr on Thursday. First Lady Begum Samina Arif Alvi, representatives of the World Health Organization (WHO), differently-abled people (DAPs), members of the diplomatic community, and people from different walks of life attended the ceremony.
The President said that DAPs should be given jobs not on the basis of charity but as equal persons with equal abilities and should be given specially designed jobs and tools to make them productive and useful members of the organization. He said that all necessary steps should be taken to impart education, and provide them with tools and assistive technology to remove barriers to their movement and inclusion at national, provincial and local levels, besides giving them jobs as per their ability with dignity, honour and respect. He said that we can transform the hitherto 10% neglected population into productive and useful members of society and enable them to contribute to our nation-building.
President Dr. Arif Alvi said that there were stereotypes in society associated with DAPs and they also had to face ridicule, which perpetuated discrimination and hate and discouraged DAPs from taking part in daily societal activities. He said that practices of name-calling and stereotypes should be stopped and a collective attitudinal change was needed to make our society inclusive which was necessary for the development and progress of the country.
President Dr. Arif Alvi said that the banks were now offering special loans for the DAPs to allow them to create businesses while staying at home and market them on different online marketing platforms. He said that it was our duty to create awareness through media and other forms of communication among parents and DAPs to avail these loans and become financially and economically independent in their life.
Earlier, Begum Samina Arif Alvi in her address said that the entire month of December was dedicated to promote the rights of DAPs at all levels of society and the institutions both in the public and private sectors. She said that white canes would be provided to all blind persons with visual impairments to help them in their movement. She said that although there had been a fixed quota for the DAPs in government and private organizations, however, this quota was either not filled or the jobs were given to DAPs as a charity. She said that customized jobs should be created, which correspond to and facilitate DAPs to perform to their fullest potential.
Secretary of the Ministry of Human Rights in his address outlined various steps taken by the Government to ensure the inclusion of DAPs as full and dignified members of society. He said that an act had been passed to ensure the rights of DAPs, and a mobile phone-based application had also been launched. He said that initiatives had been taken to train at least one teacher in one school with the required skills to communicate with DAPs with ease to help them fully adjust to society.
Earlier, children with different abilities performed tableau, besides reciting the national anthem in sign language. The President also used sign language to recite the national anthem at the beginning of the ceremony.