What do you mean by defence vs development?
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It was heartening that General Kayani in a conversation with correspondents on April 19 called for a comprehensive national security concept recognising the importance of development as its essential ingredient. He was quoted to have said: “Ultimately, the security of a country is not only that you secure boundaries and borders, but it is when people that live in the country feel happy (that) their needs are being met.” He even called for less spending on defence. These remarks were music to my ears, as I have been urging the adoption of a comprehensive concept of national security in my columns for the last eight years since my retirement from the Foreign Service of Pakistan and even earlier when I was a government servant. In fact, in my last article (Strategic imperative of peace) in TheNation of April 17, I called for the building up of a structure of peace between Pakistan and India and the reduction of their military expenditures so that their resources could instead be diverted to the urgent task of economic development and welfare of their peoples.