President
Mamnoon Hussain on Thursday said today's Pakistan carried a better image
of improved law and order and economic situation as compared to the Pakistan of
year 2013.
Addressing the convocation of National Textile University (NTU)
here at Jinnah Convention Centre, the President said the undeterred commitment
of Pakistani nation and the government along with joint efforts of State
institutions had resulted in overall improved situation.
President Mamnoon stressed that it was need of the hour that
entire nation backed its government and national institutions to eliminate the
causes of lawlessness and bring the perpetrators to justice.
He said the country's fiscal policies were being appreciated by
international monetary ranking institutions. He mentioned that textile industry
in the past suffered a lot due to inappropriate policies and electricity
shortage. He expressed satisfaction that the government under a
comprehensive strategy had overcome the electricity crisis to a great extent
and new power generation projects were being set up to meet future needs.
The President said self-sufficiency in electricity would promote
the industrial sector, including textiles. He emphasized adoption of modern
techniques based on research to match the requirements of contemporary
industrial world. He said textile industry
was the country's backbone making upto 65 percent of national economy. He said
Faisalabad had an extraordinary importance in this regard, being the hub of
trade and commerce. The
President said due to his personal association with textile industry in the
past, he was aware of its related problems and had also suggested the Finance
Minister to consider giving an ample subsidy to this industry.
He said China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) would usher in a
new era of progress in the country with launch of several trade and development
projects. He said CPEC would not only reduce China's 10,500 kilometre trade
route to 2,500 kilometre, but would also provide Pakistan the Corridor's
service benefits. He mentioned his recent meetings with the leaders of Central
Asians countries, who also expressed keen interest in joining the CPEC as their
trade route. He said the country's textile sector had huge scope to benefit
from the CPEC and called upon the NTU to prepare their students to benefit from
the opportunities offered by this mega project. The
President said much time and resources were wasted in past tenures, which caste
a negative impact on national economy and regretted that areas of health,
education and power generation were also neglected. However, he said now the
government had regained economic stability with better fiscal policies.
President Mamnoon termed youth the leaders of future, who had a
role to play for the country's betterment. He felicitated the graduates of
National Textile University and expressed confidence that they would better
contribute to the textile industry with their expertise. The President gave
away gold medals among the graduates for their remarkable academic achievement.
Earlier, Rector NTU Professor Dr Tanveer Hussain in his welcome address gave
salient features of the university and the courses taught in various
disciplines related to textile.
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