The link between security and economic growth

Ghulam Dastgir,

Rawalpindi

The civilian and military leadership’s resolve in relation to the country’s security must have spooked its enemies that are conceiving, planning and executing terrorist activities in KPK and Balochistan for quite some time. Chairing a high-level meeting on the country’s security situation yesterday, prime minister Shehbaz Sharif reportedly made a solemn pledge that his government would inflict a crushing defeat on terrorists and perpetrators would “never dare cast an evil on eye of Pakistan”.

There seems to be a reason behind the spike in the number of terror incidents in our two provinces in particular: economic stability in country. Therefore, the prime minister was spot on when he reportedly remarked that “Pakistan’s enemies are scared of our economic achievements”. Of course, India happens to be the prime or principal enemy of Pakistan. The ultra-right government in India has been working day in, day out to foment trouble in the country on a massive scale to hurt our economy and its economic prospects. It has been doing it ever since prime minister Narendra Modi came to power in 2014. Terrorism has led to direct as well as indirect costs. It has cost the country at least $126 billion. Needless to say, terrorism affects country’s economic performance in several ways because economic development cannot occur without peace, and peace and security without economic growth may not be achievable.