Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday said that food security and climate change were new challenges to national security.
The premier expressed the views at the Islamabad Security Dialogue where he launched the National Security Division’s (NSD) advisory portal connecting over 100 think-tanks and university departments with policy makers.
During his address, the prime minister said that Pakistan needed to have a debate on the concept of national security, adding that it encompassed more than just matters and affairs related to strengthening the country's security forces.
"We are slowly realising that national security relates to areas which no one thinks about. National security today includes many aspects that have been ignored in previous decades, including climate change, food security and economic prosperity,”
Highlighting the issue of climate change, the premier said that it was also an area concerning national security. He said the issue was one which no one had paid attention to before, when it was a very "frightening thing" which had the potential to overshadow everything else for upcoming generations.
"Pakistan is among those countries taking steps to tackle climate change," he said, adding that the PTI government had been internationally recognised for its '10 Billion Tree Tsunami' initiative.
PM Imran stated that food security was another issue, adding that the government will launch a comprehensive programme regarding this in the coming weeks.
The prime minister said that the economy also played a key role in national security. "National security cannot be [envisaged] in a country where there are some rich people and a sea of poor people."
He said secure nations were those where every citizen felt they had a stake in the government and cited the example of China as a model to follow for poverty eradication.
He mentioned initiatives taken by the incumbent government to tackle poverty in this regard such as the Ehsaas Emergency Cash Programme and targeted subsidies for the poor.
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<a href="https://t.co/56k4IFz4bw">pic.twitter.com/56k4IFz4bw</a></p>— Christian Turner (@CTurnerFCDO) <a href="https://twitter.com/CTurnerFCDO/status/1440966326768521216?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 23, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
