ISLAMABAD: Adviser on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz on Sunday said that Pakistan was not in a hurry to hold dialogue with India without Jammu Kashmir, as New Delhi did not want to talk on the core issue of the disputed state.
In an interview with the state-run Pakistan Television, he said that Pakistan’s stance was very clear on the resumption of comprehensive dialogue (with India) which should include core issues i.e. Jammu Kashmir, ceasefire violations, economic ties etc.
“Pakistan is raising Kashmir issue effectively at all international level while maintaining a peaceful atmosphere,” he said. “Russia, under the changing global scenario, is also realigning its policy,” he said about Islamabad’s relations with Moscow. In Ufa, the meeting between Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Russian President Vladimir Putin was very constructive.
Both Pakistan and Russia were negotiating defence and trade issues, he said. About the issue of the Nuclear Suppliers’ Group (NSG) membership, he said that the international community should realise that it was linked with the regional stability and could be achieved when Pakistan and India were simultaneously granted the membership of the elite nuclear club.
About Pak-Afghan ties, Sartaj said that Pakistan had been very sincerely working for an Afghan-own and Afghan-led peace process and referred to its role in the Quadrilateral Coordination Group (QCG). But he made it clear that it was not the sole responsibility of Pakistan but the world community should also play its due role in bringing stability in Afghanistan.
He said that Pakistan was facilitating the peace process which had suffered a setback due to a recent drone attack on Mulla Akhtar Mansur, a Taliban leader. However, he emphasised that dialogue was the only option as ultimately the Afghan government had to continue it. He said that border between the neighbouring countries existed in the last 70 years.
When the people crossed it (the border) and sought facilitation, so it required better management, he said. He said that Pakistan did not want ‘a loose border’ and in this regard progress was being made. To another query, he replied that Pakistan and Iran had deep relations and certain issues could not affect them.
Similarly, Pakistan enjoyed cordial and brotherly relations with Saudi Arabia and fully cooperated over Saudi led anti-terrorism efforts whereas about two million Pakistanis had been staying in Saudi Arabia, he added. The adviser defended blueprints of the government’s foreign policy by saying that the country’s profile with regard to enhancement of its ties with the Central Asian Republics, China, the European and the Islamic countries has witnessed marked improvement.
Sartaj maintained that Pakistan would not interfere into the internal affairs of the countries and that approach had gained global appreciation. He said Pakistan had a very effective role in the United Nations and the Organisation of the Islamic Cooperation (OIC), besides the role it was going to play in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO).
He said when the PML-N government was formed, it improved the country’s relations with the US and the suspended strategic dialogue process was resumed. Moreover, he said that Pakistan strongly raised the issue of drone attacks by adopting a strict policy. Prior to the PML-N government, there were 117 drone strikes inside Pakistan, but due to the effective policy, those were reduced to three.
However, Sartaj maintained that they had raised the issue strongly at the international forums as it was linked to the national security and sovereignty which could not be compromised. About China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), he said that the $46billion flag ship project of development and connectivity was not against any country rather it was aimed at generating massive and trade activities in the entire region.
Besides the CPEC, work on Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan and India (TAPI) gas pipeline, Central Asia and South Asia (CASA) power projects had kick-started, he said, adding that the region would be the major trade hub in the next two decades. In the ongoing cooperation between China and Russia under the SCO umbrella, Pakistan would be in the forefront of forging trade and regional ties, he added.
The main objective of the Pakistan’s foreign policy was to achieve economic prosperity as underlined by the prime minister, Sartaj said, adding that the country’s GDP touched five per cent and would further increase in the coming years. However, he made it clear that the success of robust and successful foreign policy hinged on the internal stability of a country and when the messages of instability were given outside, it did affect the country’s image.
He said without attaining economic prosperity, the benchmarks of self-reliance and protection of sovereignty could not be achieved. He said that Pakistan had achieved many successes under the PML-N government on the internal and external fronts by overcoming the issue of terrorism and economic and energy woes which led to enhancement of its stature among the comity of nations.
He reasserted that contours of Pakistan’s foreign policy to achieve economic stability and trade growth through vast regional connectivity have met success during the last two years. He said under the global realignment policies, Pakistan increased its trade and energy connectivity in the region, thus assuming the epicenter of colossal economic activities which would transform the facade of entire region.
