Steps underway to attract foreign investment: President

President Dr Arif Alvi on Monday said steps were being taken in the country to provide a congenial business environment to attract foreign investment.

He said the reforms initiated by the government to improve the ease of doing business had delivered results and Pakistan's position in international rankings had improved from 136th to 108th position.

President made these remarks while talking to a delegation of the Quetta Chamber of Commerce and Industry (QCCI), led by President QCCI Fida Hussain Dashti, here at the Aiwan-e-Sadr.

The president said the government was focusing on facilitating and strengthening the business and the industrial sectors and in this regard, had provided maximum relief to the trader community and other vulnerable segments of society during the COVID-19 pandemic.

He highlighted that the government had allocated Rs 100 billion under the Kamyab Jawan Program to promote entrepreneurship and Small & Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in the country and provide business loans to youth on easy terms and conditions.

The delegation informed the president about the contributions of the Quetta's business community in the national economy and apprised him about their problems. The president assured the delegation to help resolve their issues.

Islamabad Police held more than 8,200 beggars during the ongoing year in its crackdown against professional alm seekers and their handlers with the purpose to curb this menace, a police spokesman said on Monday.

Following directions of Inspector General of Police Islamabad Qazi Jamil ur Rehman, the special teams headed by Additional SP have been constituted to ensure arrest of beggars' handlers while legal process is being ensured to register FIRs against the professional alm-seekers.

During efforts to curb this menace, the police arrested more than 8,200 professional beggars from various areas of the city during current year. The IGP Islamabad has said that this social evil would be curbed and those backing the professional beggars would be dealt with an iron hand. During the ongoing year, a total of 377 handlers of beggars were arrested while more than 1800 were sent to jails after legal action against them.