ICCI strongly condemns FICCI report

  • December 09, 2009
Zahid Maqbool, President and all office bearers of Islamabad Chamber of Commerce & Industry in a meeting have strongly condemned the Task Force report on “National Security and Terrorism” brought out by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) recommending some very harsh measures against Pakistan which included inflicting economic pain on Pakistan, taking covert actions inside Pakistan, conducting surgical strikes against Pakistan, leveraging water as a tool to destroy Pakistan’s agriculture, banning imports and restricting travel between the two countries etc.

They said these recommendations were the product of some highly negative minds which reflected nefarious intentions and shortsightedness of the authors who seemed to be bent on vitiating the relations between the two neighborly countries. They said the need of the hour was that FICCI should have devoted its time in identifying and formulating policies for business promotion and economic prosperity by advocating for harmony and peace in the region instead of preparing reckless recommendations which could jeopardize the lives of billions of people in South Asia. He said both countries were nuclear powers and FICCI should have realized what could be the result if they engaged in conflict.

Zahid Maqbool said that business and economy could grow only in an atmosphere of peace and stability and lamented that an apex business body like FICCI had given recommendations to create tension and instability in the region. He said both Pakistan and India were blessed with plenty of very capable and young talent which needed to be trained and used to the advantage of their economies instead of taking them to backwardness.

He said both countries have also huge potential of enhancing trade and economic activities and to realize these benefits FICCI should have contributed for confidence building measures instead of giving suggestions to push both the countries to the stone-age by indulging into a mutually destructive war.

He said majority of population of India and Pakistan was suffering from abject poverty, illiteracy, inflation, hunger & many other problems and to surmount these challenges both countries needed enhanced cooperation and coordination for achieving common goals of poverty reduction and economic prosperity. He said that the entire world was engaged in lobbying for promoting peace between India and Pakistan, but FICCI was giving recommendations to add fuel to the fire instead of extinguishing it.

ICCI President said most of the countries were striving for developing regional economic blocks so that they could pool and harness their resources for collective welfare of their people, but ironically FICCI was advocating strategies that would lead to destruction of businesses and economies by escalating conflicts in the region

He said that Pakistan’s approach had always been to build friendly, co-operative, and productive relations with all its neighbors including India, based on the principles of peace, equality & mutual respect and India should also show reciprocal gestures in its approach to usher in prosperity in the region. He called upon the FICCI and the Indian Government to let sanity prevail and immediately withdraw said report unconditionally to save the South Asian people from destruction.