ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s army chief General Syed Asim Munir said on Friday that the government and law enforcement agencies would continue to take action against illegal activities harming the country’s economic interests “with full force,” the state-run Radio Pakistan said in a report.
Pakistan launched a nationwide crackdown against currency smugglers, hoarders, and black marketers in its bid to stave off an economic crisis that has significantly weakened the country’s national currency, causing its reserves to deplete and inflation to skyrocket to unprecedented levels.
Following the crackdown, Pakistan has seen a marked improvement in its national currency. On Friday, the rupee appreciated by 0.33 percent to stand at Rs282.69 against the US dollar when trading ended, up from Rs283.62 from the other day.
“Army Chief General Syed Asim Munir says law enforcement agencies and other government departments will continue action against illegal activities with full force to deny pilferage of resources and economic losses due to these activities,” the report said.
Munir was speaking during a meeting of the provincial apex committee in Pakistan’s southern port city of Karachi on Friday, the report said. The army chief was briefed about the revised National Action Plan, the security of foreign nationals employed under projects part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor Project (CPEC) and the repatriation of illegal foreigners from the country.
The army chief was also briefed on measures being taken by the government to regulate foreign currency and apprised about progress on projects part of the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC), a top civil-military government body formed in June to attract international investment in key economic sectors.
“The Army Chief called for synergy among all relevant departments for gainful effects of these landmark initiatives,” the report added.
On Tuesday, Caretaker Interior Minister Sarfraz Bugti gave “illegal immigrants” in Pakistan till Nov. 1 to leave the country “voluntarily” or face deportation. The move is likely to impact over a million Afghan refugees in the country who have been living in Pakistan for decades, with many of them not even officially registered.
The decision, which was criticized by the Taliban-led government in Afghanistan, was taken by Pakistan after a steep rise in militant attacks across the country. Bugti said out of the 24 suicide bombings that have taken place in Pakistan since January, 14 were carried out by Afghan nationals.
Pakistan’s army chief says action against illegal activities to continue with ‘full force’
https://arab.news/zz4jf
Pakistan’s army chief says action against illegal activities to continue with ‘full force’
- Army chief General Syed Asim Munir attends fourth provincial apex committee meeting in Karachi
- Pakistan launched an operation against currency smugglers, hoarders and black marketers last month
At ECO meeting, Pakistan proposes ‘Regional Innovation Hub’ to curb natural disasters
- Pakistan hosts high-level 10th ECO Ministerial Meeting on Disaster Risk Reduction in Islamabad
- Innovation hub to focus on early warning technologies, risk informed infrastructure planning
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has proposed to set up a “Regional Innovation Hub on Disaster Risk Reduction” that focuses on early warning technologies and risk informed infrastructure planning, the Press Information Department (PID) said on Wednesday, as Islamabad hosts a high-level meeting of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO).
The ECO’s 10th Ministerial Meeting on Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) is being held from Jan. 21-22 at the headquarters of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) in Pakistan’s capital.
The high-level regional forum brings together ministers, and senior officials from ECO member states, representatives of the ECO Secretariat and regional and international partner organizations. The event is aimed to strengthen collective efforts toward enhancing disaster resilience across the ECO region, the PID said.
“Key agenda items include regional cooperation on early warning systems, disaster risk information management, landslide hazard zoning, inclusive disaster preparedness initiatives, and Pakistan’s proposal to establish a Regional Innovation Hub on Disaster Risk Reduction, focusing on early warning technologies, satellite data utilization, and risk-informed infrastructure planning,” the statement said.
The meeting was attended by delegations from ECO member states including Pakistan, Türkiye, Azerbaijan, Iran, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. Representatives of regional and international organizations and development partners were also in attendance.
Discussions focused on enhancing regional coordination, harmonizing disaster risk reduction frameworks, and strengthening collective preparedness against transboundary and climate-induced hazards impacting the ECO region, the PID said.
ECO members states such as Pakistan, Türkiye, Afghanistan and others have faced natural calamities such as floods and earthquakes in recent years that have killed tens of thousands of people.
Heavy rains triggered catastrophic floods in Pakistan in 2022 and 2025 that killed thousands of people and caused damages to critical infrastructure, inflicting losses worth billions of dollars.
Islamabad has since then called on regional countries to join hands to cooperate to avert future climate disasters and promote early warning systems to avoid calamities in future.
