Acting President Shaban Khalid, Vice President Muhammad  Ishtiaq Qureshi and Executive Members of Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry in a meeting at ICCI have strongly condemned the murder of prominent journalist Musa Khan Khel, who was killed by unknown assassins in Matta (Swat) on Wednesday, while covering a peace rally. They expressed their shock and grief over this tragic incident, conveyed their condolences and sympathies to the bereaved family members of the journalist and prayed for the departed soul. They called upon the federal and NWFP governments to take immediate steps to trace and apprehend the culprits and the murderers to bring justice to the bereaved family.  This will help restore the faith of the masses in the system and the genuine efforts of the government.

Shaban Khalid said along with people of Swat, business community has always been demanding for restoration of peace and tranquility in our country. The law and order situation in Swat has not only uprooted & made homeless millions of people, it has almost halted the business activities in the area adding to the miseries of the residents of the area, which also had a great potential to earn foreign exchange through means of promoting tourism in the region. He also stressed on how a single region in Pakistan had badly affected the flow of foreign investment in the whole country, as the global perception of Pakistan had been effected because of this episode of the killing of a prominent journalist and current deterioration in the Law and Order situation.

He appreciated the efforts of government to restore peace in the region by engaging trouble makers in negotiations. He said restoration of peace in the area is essential to regenerate economic activity in the region, which will prove beneficial for all stakeholders. If peace prevails in this region of the country, it will help in regaining the momentum of economy, which Pakistan has the potential of. He stressed security and economy go hand in hand especially now that the world has become a global village, anytime an investor or businessman is threatened or feels insecure, he will move all his investment towards safer avenues or regions of the world.

He said government should ensure proper security to all, including business community by improving the law and order situation in the country and added that without better security arrangements, promotion of business and economic activities in the country would be a far cry because no investor would take risk to bring investment in an insecure environment in the country. He said businessmen are ready to extend all possible support to the government to improve security conditions in the country which will enable flourishing of economic activities in the country.