Zahid Maqbool, President, all office bearers and Executive Members of Islamabad Chamber of Commerce & Industry in a meeting strongly condemned the terrorist attack on Parade Lane mosque in Rawalpindi Cantonment which killed as many as 40 persons and injured more than 80 persons. They expressed their deep condolences with the bereaved families who lost their loved ones in the tragic incident. They prayed to Almighty Allah to keep the departed souls in eternal peace and grant the bereaved families courage to bear this irreparable loss.

Businessmen also reiterated their full support for the armed forces of the country that were rendering great services and were even sacrificing their lives to purge the country of the menace of militancy and terrorism. They said the whole nation was on the back of armed forces and hoped that with joint efforts, the country would soon get rid of these bad elements.

Zahid Maqbool called upon the government to make foolproof security arrangements, particularly in sensitive areas to stop the occurrence of such heinous crimes. He said when law enforcement agencies & police were getting reports about a massive terrorist attack in Rawalpindi or Islamabad, they should have taken extra security measures by putting the whole security apparatus on high alert.

He said security problem was badly affecting the business and economic activities in the country and stressed for the need of chalking out a comprehensive security strategy in consultation with all stakeholders to halt the closure of industries units, out flying of capital & decline in local as well as foreign investment.

He said primarily, it was the domestic investors who had to be encouraged and motivated to take the lead for the investment. Once, domestic investors start flourishing, it would encourage foreigners to invest in Pakistan as well. But this may not be possible without improving security environment, he stressed.

ICCI President said many potential investors and businessmen were waiting for normalization of situation so that they could enhance their business interests in Pakistan. The reason was that Pakistan was blessed with plenty of advantages which included large pool of human talent, immense natural resources, big market and tremendous investment potential in different sectors of its economy. However, he said business friendly environment was the basic requirement to exploit these untapped economic potentials and emphasized upon the government to take all possible measures to improve security.