President Alvi holds meeting with Kashif Anwar

Lahore: President of Pakistan Dr. Arif Alvi on Wednesday had an exclusive meeting with President of Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry Kashif Anwar at Governors House with the purpose to have details of his recent meeting with Chief of Army Staff General Asim Munir.

“I wanted to talk to the LCCI because its President Kashif Anwar had a meeting with the Chief of Army Staff”, Dr. Arif Alvi said adding that it was happy to see that Armed Forces are also playing role for economic revival of the country.

He said that the meeting between Chief of Army Staff and LCCI President was like a dialogue on investment from Gulf, political and economic issues.

Kashif Anwar informed Dr. Arif Alvi that the meeting with Chief of Army Staff was positive and constructive during which the issues of rupee devaluation, inflation, taxes, smuggling, energy, international relations, foreign direct investment and charter of economy came under discussion.

First Lady Samina Alvi, LCCI Executive committee Members Raja Hasan Akhtar, Shamim Akhtar, Fareeha Younis, Waseem Yousaf, Director General Trade Organizations Umar Dad Afridi and LCCI Secretary General Shahid Khalil were also part of the meeting.

Dr. Ariv Alvi said that we are hardworking people. We must first look at our past. He said that no heavenly calamity has descended on Pakistan but all the problems we are suffering from are due to our own decisions of last 75 years.

The President of Pakistan said that if people say that the floods are coming, you cannot do routine work with eyes closed. He said that there are many elite classes in the country including politicians, establishment and the business elites, all these elites rule the country together and businessmen bear their burden and pay taxes of the others. They bear the burden of power theft. We want to carry all the weight and keep the status co going.

He said that at present 27 million children are out of school. This is a huge storm. 55000 new schools are needed to send these children to schools. How will they be constructed? This is an emergency situation. An emergency has been declared for out-of-school children in China.

He said that currently the youth are talking about addiction, LGBTQ which is very dangerous. Emphasizing on women empowerment, he said that this fifty-two percent work force is not able to create its capacity in the employment sector, we have cultural and harassment problems, take care of this work force. Earlier in the world only profit was discussed but now workforce and environment also have to be considered.

“I had said in my speech on Independence Day that the foundation of Islam is not the state but society”, he said and added that Lahore Chamber is a very progressive organization and it has a talented leadership. LCCI should focus on talking to its members, conduct surveys, seminars and involve women in working. He said that the First Lady is very keen to work on all these issues.

He said that the rehabilitation of special people is a big problem, there is a federal law that 3to 4 percent of special people will be made part of the workforce. He said that currently there are 140 such trainings of Toyota and NAFTEC which are for special people.

LCCI President Kashif Anwar informed the First Lady about Labard, an organization working for special people under LCCI umbrella and invited her to visit, which she accepted and said that she would definitely come.

Dr. Arif Alvi said regarding breast cancer that awareness about breast cancer will start in October. Last year, because of our efforts, PTA and telecom sector sent 120 million messages for breast cancer awareness. He said that the country is suffering from problems regarding mental health and addiction which needs to be corrected. There are 550 psychiatrists and 1200 psychologists in our country. We cannot depend on them at all. The number is very low in terms of population. He said that your meeting with the Chief of Army Staff is a ray of hope. President Lahore Chamber Kashif Anwar thanked the President for inviting him for this important meeting today. He said that whenever we wanted to come to you in Islamabad, you gave time.

President of Lahore Chamber said that we are fulfilling our responsibility in every sector including tax and economy. 25 percent women are currently working in Lahore Chamber. We have to increase this number as well. He said that Labard is providing education and training facilities to special people. He said that they are signing MoUs with various hospitals, colleges and universities to provide affordable healthcare and education. On this occasion, the President of Pakistan said that you should also take special measures to prevent diseases. President Lahore Chamber further said that we are working on women empowerment.