No trust on enemy: President

ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari while announcing not to slash defense budget has made it clear that the enemy cannot be trusted.

Addressing the participants of national security workshop here at National Defense University here on Tuesday, he said, Government would cut its expenditure but no comprise would be made on national security and defense.

Declaring strong defense and economy vital for country’s development, he said, we would have to remain vigilant with regard to country’s defense. No war can be won without strong economy and Government is striving hard to steer economy out of crisis so that living standard of Pakistani could be changed, he said.

Government, he said, is slashing its budget but no cut would be made in defense budget. Despite limited resources, he said, all needs of armed forces of the country would be fulfilled because Pakistan army has played a key role in war against terrorism and extremism.

“We cannot sit idle as changes being occurred in the region. We are watching changing scenario of the region closely”, he said.

Extremism and terrorism, the President said, is a scourge for our society and some foreign elements want to impose war on Pakistan but they would not be succeeded in their nefarious design.

We would crush militancy with help of nation, he said. Pakistan army, he said, has not only flushed out terrorists from Swat and Malakand in limited times but also played a significant role in safe and sound returning of more than 2.5 million internally displaced people to their native areas.

Terrorists had to face defeat in South Waziristan also, he said. Pakistan, he said, is a peaceful country and doesn’t abhor with any country but our desire for peace in the region should not be considered as our weakness.

He hoped that the workshop on national security would be helpful for Government to devise strategy on national security. He announced Rs. 50 million for new faculty of university and said the Government would also bear expenditure worth Rs. 250 million to be utilized for construction of faculty.