KARACHI, OCT 11 (DNA) – Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa said on Wednesday that Pakistan continuously had to maintain a feasible balance between its economy and security in order to arrive at a peaceful and happy future for its people.

He was speaking at a seminar on the interplay of economy and security in Karachi.

General Bajwa said that Pakistan did not enjoy the luxury of reviewing the balance between its guns and butter.

“We live in one of the most volatile regions of the world, dealing with multiple crises since inception, but increasingly so during the last four decades,” he said.

He added that the security of a country was influenced by many factors including political, economic, military, social, human and environmental factors. Therefore, although his primary responsibility was to look after Pakistan’s military security, he could not do so without understanding all the rest of these important factors as well.

General Bajwa said that Pakistan had a much better internal security situation today and that threats to the country’s integrity had been defeated. However, he added, residual threats still persisted in the country. “The situation is stable but there is apparent fragility at places,” said the army chief.