TAXILA: The Senate Standing Committee on Defence Production on Thursday visited Heavy Industries Taxila (HIT).

The committee directed the Ministry of Defence Production to chalk out a plan for using surplus capacity in defence institutions for commercial purposes to reduce the pressure on the defence budget and meet the defence requirements as a first priority.

The committee chairman, retired Lt Gen Abdul Qayyum lauded the evolution and progress of HIT in defence production.

`After independence, Pakistan inherited a very small defence production infrastructure. However, with time and with the devotion of technical manpower, the production capabilities have increased, achieving new milestones every day,` he said.

The committee chairman emphasised on the upgrading of plants and machines, building a pool of trained technical manpower and tal(ing steps towards the indigenisation, research and development of the defence production sector.

He said no compromise should be made on the quality in order to remain internationally competitive.

He said the main purpose of the visit it to get an idea about the capability of HIT, share ideas about enhanc-ing its efficiency and broadening its base for the benefit of the country.

Committee members called for making defence production establishments more vibrant to compete in international markets.

The committee members including senators Nuzhat Sadiq, Abdul Ghafoor Haideri, Nauman Wazir Khattak, Pervaiz Rasheed and the committee chairman were received by HIT Chief Lt Gen Abdullah Dogar.

The committee members were briefed about HIT`s ongoing and com-pleted projects, budget allocations, capacity enhancements for commercial purposes and exports and the future of the heavy industries as well as a briefing on the overall working and performance, upgrading and providing support services to the armed forces and other organisations.

The committee visited the display centre and various production units at HIT. The committee chairman said the Al-Khalid Tank is the pride of the nation and supported the proposal for a new model of the tank.