-Urges business community’s role in economic uplift
By Uzma Zafar
ISLAMABAD: President Dr Arif Alvi Thursday underscored the need for early development of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) to increase the overall efficiency of the electoral process and ensure transparency in the elections.
He said that modern technologies could help in making the voting process more convenient for the citizens as well as building public trust in the electoral process. The President made these remarks while chairing a meeting on EVMs here at Aiwan-e-Sadr.
Minister for Railways Senator Muhammad Azam Khan Swati, Minister for Science and Technology Senator Shibli Faraz, Secretary Ministry of Information Technology Nadeem Irshad Kayani, Acting Chairman National Database Registration Authority (NADRA) Brig (R) Khalid Latif, Director General IT, Election Commission of Pakistan, Khizer Aziz, and senior government officials attended the meeting.
The meeting reviewed the progress with regard to manufacturing of indigenous EVM with latest security features and specifications. The Ministry of Science and Technology updated the meeting about the development of prototype EVM. The President asked the concerned organizations to set timelines and finalize specifications for EVMs at the earliest so that the machines could be used in the upcoming General Elections in 2023.
Separately on Thursday, Mr. Alvi said business community could play an important role in the economic development of the country and urged the traders and businessmen to pay taxes to enhance revenues.
Talking to a delegation of Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) led by its President Mian Nasser Hayatt Maggo here at Aiwan-e-Sadr, the president said tax collection could help allocate more funds for development projects for the benefit of people. President Alvi said the government was committed to providing a competitive and fair business environment to entrepreneurs and had undertaken a number of measures to build a sustainable economy.
He said that the federal government, despite the financial constraints, had supported the business community by providing them Rs 1.2 trillion financial stimulus package. He said the government had given incentives to depressed segments of society by providing financial assistance to 15 million families under the Ehsaas Emergency Cash Transfer Program during the COVID-19 pandemic.
He added that the government was also focusing on the economic empowerment of women and persons with disability by providing them incentivised loans at five percent mark up.
