-ISI praised for ‘diligent efforts’ to ensure national security
-PM visits ISI headquarters
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan was given a briefing on the security situation in the country and the region during a visit to the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Secretariat on Monday.
He was accompanied by Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Defence Minister Pervez Khattak, Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry, Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed, Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa, Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee Gen Nadeem Raza, Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Mohammad Amjad Khan Niazi and Chief of the Air Staff Air Chief Marshal Zaheer Ahmed Babar Sidhu.
They were received at the ISI Secretariat by Director General Lt Gen Faiz Hameed, according to a press release by the Prime Minister’s Office.
During the visit, the national and military leadership was given a “comprehensive briefing on the regional and national security situation”, the release stated.
Prime Minister Imran appreciated the ISI’s “diligent efforts for national security and expressed his satisfaction over professional preparedness”.
In March, the COAS and ISI chief had met the prime minister as part of the interactions between the civilian and military leadership on national issues. An official, speaking on background, had said the meeting was held to review the “internal and external situation”.
Five publicly known meetings between Prime Minister Imran and the army chief and ISI director general have taken place in the past couple of months under this format.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Imran Khan launched an “Ehsaas Saving Wallets (Ehsaas Bachat Bank Account) initiative during a visit to an Ehsaas Kafaalat payment site in Islamabad.
Speaking at the inauguration ceremony, Prime Minister Khan said the Ehsaas initiative was recognised among the top four social protection programmes the world over during the Covid-19 pandemic.
He maintained that a large section of the world’s population fell under poverty line with the pandemic affecting daily wagers and labour class the most.
Had we not swiftly rolled out the Ehsaas programme, the weak segments of society would have suffered more, the prime minister pointed out, adding 25 per cent of the country’s population is below the poverty line.
PM Imran Khan hoped that the “Ehsaas Saving Wallets” will also be successful in achieving its intended objective. “Poverty alleviates fast if we bring women into financial system,” he opined.
Prime Minister Imran Khan stressed that no country could progress by ignoring the weak segments of society. “A country that has an island of the rich and a sea of the poor cannot reach greater heights,” he said.
Ehsaas Saving Wallets (ESWs) is said to be an essential component of the Ehsaas Financial Inclusion Strategy. The saving wallets initiative is a strategic step forward for Kafaalat households to better manage financial shocks, meet emergency needs, and invest to increase their earnings; to climb out of poverty.
The Ehsaas Kafaalat beneficiaries will now have an option of either drawing their money or saving money in digital wallets.
They can open these accounts at agent shops or ATMs. Initial transactions through these accounts will include balance inquiry, cash in and cash out, transfer funds received from Ehsaas to mobile accounts, mobile top up, utility bill payments and money transfers.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister said as the government did not protect criminals, the recovery rate of National Accountability Bureau (NAB) in three years was significantly high compared with the governments during 1999-2017.
“When the government does not protect criminals and let the investigation agencies and accountability work without interference, it shows in the results being achieved,” he tweeted.
The prime minister mentioned that NAB in last three years tenure of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (2018-2020) recovered Rs. 484 billion in contrast to only Rs 290 billion recovered during 1999-2017.–Agencies
