By NNN-APP,
Islamabad : Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani Thursday said only the truly skilled political leaders were better placed to ensure national security by using and inter-relating elements of power.
Addressing the participants of the 11th National Security Workshop here at the National Defence University, the Prime Minister linked peace and prosperity as the only guarantors of national security and said the national resources that need to be protected included the people, political institutions, economic resources and the ideology.
The Prime Minister said the three elements of power universally recognized to maintain national security were; military, economic and intellectual power.
However pointed that the highest quality of power comes from the application of knowledge.
He termed knowledge as a wealth and force multiplier and said it could achieve efficiency by using fewest resources for higher objectives.
“Only the truly skilled political leaders know intuitively how to use and inter-relate the elements of power to ensure national security,” Gilani said.
He dismissed brute force because of its inherent weakness, sheer inflexibility and encourages arms race.
“It is in short a low quality power,” he said.
He said wealth by contrast was a far better tool of power as instead of just threatening or delivering punishment, it can also offer finely graded rewards in cash or kind and is therefore, much more flexible and yields medium quality power.
Gilani termed national security as a very complex and multifaceted undertaking as it involves survival of the nation-state from internal and external threats through the use of economic, military, political, information and diplomatic means.
“Therefore it is no longer a pursuit of the military alone. Nor is its management the exclusive domain of a selected few,” Gilani said.
“The effective pursuit of national security requires developing a strategic framework which encompasses all elements of national power, tangible as well as intangible.”
Gilani said the national security must also focus on the complex ways in which national, regional and global factors impinge upon the security concerns of a country.
The Prime minister said “we are living in an interdependent world, in which traditional notions of security and sovereignty are coming under strain and are being redefined and renegotiated.”
“We must come to grips with the implications of this phenomenon of fundamental change in international relations.”
Gilani said history has taught the mankind many lessons; the foremost being that peace and prosperity of the people were the only factors which guarantee the national security.
He said the socio-political and economic development in Japan and now in China manifest that simple military might like that of the former Soviet Union cannot help in ensuring national security.
The same concept was expressed in a much broader prospective by Quaid Muhammad Ali Jinnah on July 1, 1948 in a speech at the opening ceremony of State Bank.
Gilani quoted the Quaid as saying “we will be fulfilling our mission as Muslims and giving humanity the message of peace which alone can save it and secure the welfare, happiness and prosperity of mankind.”
He said in this context, the exercise of National Security Workshop just completed becomes centrally relevant as these perform the essential task of intellectual capacity building.
He said through a process of deliberation and collective reflection, these workshops should help to have a clear perception of the challenges and problems that confront the country.
Through a process of debate, dialogue and sustained interaction, these workshops should pave the way for developing consensus response on key issues and challenges facing Pakistan, besides bringing together people from diverse backgrounds, experiences and outlooks to foster national integration and nation-building.
He said such events also equip the participants with intellectual tools and professional skills to become informed decision-makers on matters of national security.
Gilani said the reason the country has lagged behind was in the critical sphere of decision making polity and lack of an informed perspective on the issues and challenges it faces.
Gilani congratulated the participants on the successful completion of the workshop on national security and said it would go a long way in benefitting the wider range of leadership in the country.
He said such events have rightly been termed as strategic initiatives by many, as these accord a collective opportunity to the civil and military leadership of the country to deliberate upon national security imperatives that include a host of challenges, which confront the country today.
President NDU Lt Gen Muhammad Yousaf said the 11th national security workshop discussed state policies and national issues of security and enlightened the participants to cope with challenges faced by the country.
Later the Prime Minister gave away certificates amongst the participants of the workshop.