Army urges nation to ‘throw out begging bowl’

• Gen Munir calls for ending reliance of foreign loans.
• Military draws its strength from people: army chief.
• Says security, economy interlinked and indispensable.

Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Syed Asim Munir has underscored the need for making the country’s economy self-reliant to end dependence on foreign loans, saying: “All Pakistanis must throw out the begging bowl.”

The army chief said this while addressing the opening ceremony of Khanewal Model Agriculture Farm on Monday.

The Pakistan Army is proud to serve its nation, he said, adding that the military drew its strength from the people and vice-versa.

The COAS said it has been decided that the military would not rest until Pakistan is steered out of the prevailing crisis

“Pakistanis are a proud, zealous and talented nation. All Pakistanis must throw out the beggar's bowl,” he remarked.

The army chief also said that Allah Almighty has blessed Pakistan with all blessings and no power in the world can stop the country’s progress.

Gen Munir said a state is like a mother and the relationship between the people and the state is of love and respect.

He said security and the economy are interlinked and indispensable to each other.

Speaking about the model farm, the COAS asserted that the country will witness the agricultural revolution.

He added that model farms will be established across the country in line with modern standards to benefit small farmers and spread the scope of green initiatives.

The cutting-edge corporate agriculture farming Sunday got a jumpstart by the defence forces in a multi-billion dollar move, aiming to ensure national food security and tapping the export market, The News reported.

Major General (retd) Tahir Aslam, the managing director and chief executive officer (CEO) of FonGrow — a subsidiary of Fauji Foundation — led by defence institutions, said a modern corporate farming project has been launched to take Pakistan’s agriculture to new heights.

"Our main focus area has been import-substitution farming so that domestic production can eventually replace billions of dollar worth of imports," he said.

As part of the flagship project, Green Pakistan Initiative, championed by the Pakistan Army, FonGrow represents a pioneering step towards fully mechanised and intelligent farming in the country.

Aslam said FonGrow was devolving a model that foreign investors could replicate at a later stage.

"We strive to expand corporate farms to 100,000 acres for cultivating wheat, cotton, oilseed crops, soybean and sesame in different districts of the country. The Green Initiative eyes corporate farming at one million acres of land by fostering partnerships with various foreign and local players," he added.