Businessmen in a meeting at Islamabad Chamber of Commerce & Industry (ICCI) strongly condemned the suicide bomb blast which took place near Shalimar Hotel behind Pearl Continental (PC) Hotel Rawalpindi killing more than 22 people and injuring many more. They expressed serious concerns over the deteriorating security situation and rising phenomenon of bomb blasts & suicide attacks, which has a killing effect on the business and economic activities in the country.

Zahid Maqbool, President ICCI chairing the meeting said that this situation, if not reversed; will not only force the businessmen to have serious thoughts about their future, it will greatly discourage the prospective investors from coming to Pakistan, ultimately paralyzing commercial and industrial activities in the country.

Businessmen said already poverty level in Pakistan is on the rise as about 62 million people have gone below the poverty line and added that promoting private sector role is the only best option to steer the country out of troubled waters. However, luring investment & developing private enterprises in the prevailing security situation is becoming even more difficult. They urged the government to immediately take all possible measures to overcome the uncertainty, which is basic requirement for sustainable growth of trade and industrial activities.

Zahid Maqbool also expressed grave apprehensions over the frequent closures of private educational institutions in the federal capital due to security problems. He said closing schools is not a sustainable solution of this problem and questioned for how long the schools could be kept closed. He said these institutions are charging hefty fee from the students and they must ensure suitable security arrangements to save the loss of students’ studies. 

He called upon political parties, think tanks and all stakeholders to put their heads together and devise a comprehensive strategy to rid the nation of increasing security threats. He also appealed to people to extend full cooperation to security agencies for improving the security in the country.