By Khushal Khan 

Since its independence in 1947, Pakistan has overcome many political, economic, and social challenges with shear resilience and integrity of the complete nation. The Armed Forces of Pakistan have remained vigilant and stood shoulder to shoulder with the people of Pakistan to face every challenge. Pakistan Army has not only performed well to counter the external and internal security threats but it has also contributed towards the social and economic development of the country.

Pakistan Army’s efforts in the form of Relief and Rescue operations & medical support during the natural calamities are not a secret. Under the dynamic leadership of COAS General Qamar Javed Bajwa, there have been monumental contributions made by Pakistan Army in making NCOC & NLCC a complete success in dealing with Covid-19 and locust respectively. 

Pakistan Army also concentrated its efforts towards nation building including communication infrastructure and contributions to supplement socio economic uplift in Western border regions. All these endeavors were not pursued at the behest of a particular party but were pursued persistently over the course of time for the state and people of Pakistan.

Pakistan Army under the leadership of General Qamar Javed Bajwa has played a pivotal role not only in the security domain but also in the legal and economic matters of the country. The resolution of Karkey Karadeniz Electrik Uterim and Reko Diq disputes are prominent examples of Pakistan Army’s role in preserving the economic stability and safeguarding national interest.

The dispute with the Turkish company Karkey Karadeniz Electrik Uterim could have costed Pakistan USD 1.2 Billion in penalty resultingly shrinking Pakistan’s GDP by 2pc. Pakistan Army leadership came to the front and resolved the Karkey dispute to give Pakistan a safe passage. 

Later on, the President of Pakistan conferred civil award of Sitara-e-Imtiaz to three officers of ISI, who played a pivotal role in the successful settlement of the Karkey dispute. 

Similarly, the settlement of Reko Diq dispute that saved Pakistan from $11 Billion penalty was a result of COAS General Bajwa’s personal and direct efforts. He successfully convinced all concerning parties with his untiring contributions for a national consensus.

The whole process of resolving the Reko Diq issue took three years with several rounds of negotiations. The resumption of work on the project will usher new era of development and save Pakistan from crippling debt. Moreover, the project will be a game changer for the people of Balochistan and Pakistan as a whole by paving new ways of international investments and open new opportunities for the local population.

In addition to that, with Army’s support to the civil administration in September 2020, Karachi Transformation Plan (KTP), worth Rs. 1.1 trillion, was launched. The overall law and order situation has been maintained in Karachi due to the untiring services and sacrifices of the Army and Sindh Rangers. It is because of the efforts of Rangers and Army in Sindh that the terrorism and crime rate nosedived over the years.

CPEC being a flagship project for Pakistan economic development faced many challenges that were successfully tackled with the efforts and sacrifices of Pakistan Armed Forces. Chinese Minister for National Defense General Wei Fenghe acknowledged and appreciated Pakistan Army’s sincere efforts for regional peace and provision of secure environment for CPEC projects. 

In his statement to laud the efforts of General Bajwa’s leadership for contributing towards CPEC he said, “We believe that under the leadership of General Bajwa, Pakistan Army will continue to make contributions to upholding Pakistan’s sovereignty and security interests and regional peace and stability.”

All these contributions aimed to provide Pakistan the required leverage for socio-economic progress and giving people of Pakistan a progressing international environment. The Armed Forces of Pakistan have defined their course of action not only in the areas of internal and external security but also towards the socio-economic progress of Pakistan. The sincerity of these efforts is in front of everyone and with the help of it the future course for Pakistan Army is also visible that is to make Pakistan a progressing state in every domain.

• Opinions expressed in this article are the writer's own and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of The South Asia Times 
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