——— Both sides express satisfaction over deep-rooted relations between two countries
RAWALPINDI: Commander Turkish Land Forces General Selcuk Bayraktaroglu on Monday called on Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Syed Asim Munir at General Headquarters in Rawalpindi, the military said in a statement.
During the meeting, according to Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), matters of mutual interest and measures to further enhance bilateral defence cooperation were discussed.
Both sides expressed satisfaction over deep-rooted relations between the two countries, based on historic, cultural and religious affinity. COAS emphasised the need to further strengthen existing mili-tary-to-military cooperation between the two armed forces.
The visiting dignitary appreciated the role of Pakistan army in ensuring peace and stability in the re-gion.
Earlier, on arrival at GHQ, Commander Turkish Land Forces, laid floral wreath at the martyrs’ monu-ment. A smartly turned out contingent of Pakistan army presented the guard of honour to the visiting dignitary.
Meanwhile, General Selcuk Bayraktaroglu also met Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee General Sahir Shamshad Mirza at Joint Staff Headquarters in Rawalpindi.
According to ISPR, besides security and regional issues, matters relating to enhancing the level and scope of bilateral military engagements and cooperation were discussed. The dignitary lauded the high professionalism of Pakistan armed forces and acknowledged their sacri-fices in the fight against terrorism.
Earlier, Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Syed Asim Munir said on Friday that negative propaganda and social media trolls could not distract the nation from advancing towards the development and prosperity of Pakistan and its people.
Addressing a Green Pakistan Initiative (GPI) conference, General Asim asserted that the unwavering support of the armed forces, coupled with the collective resolve of the nation, would thwart all adver-sarial forces seeking to hinder Pakistan’s progress.
He urged the populace to unite in rejecting the influence of these detrimental elements, emphasizing the imperative of resilience and unity in the face of such challenges.
He emphasised that the negative propaganda and social media trolls could not distract the nation from working for the development and prosperity of Pakistan and its people, warning that no attempt to create instability would be tolerated. ”In today’s era, complete independence without economic stability is not possible, whereas no insta-bility would be tolerated in Pakistan’s journey towards prosperity and development. Let us all reject negative forces together and focus on Pakistan’s journey of development and stability,” he said.
The GPI conference was also attended by Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal and National Food Security Minister Rana Tanveer Hussain, besides the civil and military officials, involved in this national under-taking, according to a press release issued by the Inter-Services Public Relations.
The media wing of the military said that the forum was briefed about the multi-faceted GPI initiatives aimed at ensuring food security and enhancing agricultural productivity in Pakistan and the significant benchmarks achieved in a short span of time.
The initiatives presented on the occasion, included establishment of model farms, water management schemes, technology innovations and investment partnerships. Gen Asim said that Pakistan was blessed “with an industrious and resilient nation which needs to come together” for national devel-opment.
“COAS assured that Pakistan Army will continue to provide all possible support for the economic de-velopment of Pakistan and underscored that the Army’s efforts would contribute towards compre-hensive national security and collective good of the nation,” read the ISPR press release.
The federal ministers, while concluding the session, lauded this transformative initiative and under-scored that agriculture was the lifeline of Pakistan. They hoped that the GPI would introduce contem-porary best practices in Pakistan’s agriculture sector, the ISPR stated.
In July last year, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had inaugurated the GPI along with the army chief, which aims at bringing investment worth billions of dollars in the next four to five years in the agricul-ture sector of Pakistan.
Shehbaz had said that the initiative would be the second green revolution, paving the way for prosper-ity and progress in the country. Under this programme, the government anticipated an average in-vestment of $30 to 50 billion over the next three to four years. –Agencies
