Chaudhry Fawad Hussain (Federal Minister for Information): A fundamental change has been made in the general perspective of national security. Previously, it was considered as something solely associated with the intricacies of geo-politics. The new National Security Policy has brought an unprecedented change by shifting focus on geo-economics from geo-politics. The domestic as well as national policies will be devised while keeping in view the geo-economic goals of Pakistan. This shift has changed the focus of the National Security Policy to the citizens of Pakistan. The citizen centric National Security Policy will ensure protection and pursuance of interests of Pakistani nationals.

Dr. Salman Shah (Advisor to Chief Minister Punjab): The new security policy covers all the important areas which are the need of the hour. It includes defense, social protection, quality of life of common man and economic empowerment among others. The economy should be strong enough to generate resources to strengthen national defense as well as meeting needs of people. For the last four decades, our security policy was intertwined with situation in Afghanistan. Now, it is time to move towards peace and economic development. We also need to develop connectivity with Central Asian countries through Afghanistan. The documentation of national security policy is very important as we want to focus on economic development for the next forty years. Pakistan is blessed with large number of youth and there is need to provide training and education to them to harness their potential.

Lt. Gen. (Retd.) Asif Yasin Malik (Defense Analyst): Economic crisis in Afghanistan is not a new thing. It dates back to more than two decades ago due to war and anarchy. Afghan economy is not in a state to shape even the daily requirements of the country. The problem with the UN funding is that a large part of it is spent on bureaucracy of the world body. The assets frozen by the US belong to Afghanistan. The US should immediately release the legit funds of Afghanistan as Afghan people have no fault in defeat of US and its allies in Afghan war. Winters in Afghanistan are formidable and some areas are usually cut off from the mainstream. The sooner the international aid arrives in Afghanistan, the better it will be for people of the war torn country. 

Dr. Khurram Iqbal (IR Expert): The recent unprecedented session of OIC hosted by Pakistan to curb the plight of Afghan people is yielding positive results. The 17th extraordinary session was termed as mini United Nations and Pakistan categorically urged the international community to avert the imminent humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan. The war torn country is facing economic turmoil that will result in an influx of refugees into neighboring countries. The threat of terrorism is still pertinent in the contemporary Afghanistan. Still, funding is not the permanent solution for Afghanistan. The long term solution of the Afghan crisis is the recognition of the incumbent Taliban government by the international community. The multilateral forums have only made pledges to help Afghanistan but nothing has been done in praxis. The regional countries should step forward and follow the footsteps of Pakistan in helping the devastated Afghanistan.