PM ‘willing’ to engage with India for peace

Shehbaz says onus on Delhi to take steps for result-oriented dialogue

ASTANA:

 

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday strongly favoured peaceful dialogue in resolving conflicts with other countries, including the neighbouring India, in a bid to achieve the goals of prosperity of the nations and the region.

Addressing at the sixth summit of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia (CICA) in the Kazakhstan’s capital, he said Pakistan desired peaceful relations with all its neighbours including India.

”We are willing to engage with India for the sake of prosperity and development as both sides of the border cannot afford to deal with massive challenges of poverty and unemployment amid meagre resources,” he said.

Pakistan, he said “is absolutely ready and willing for a discussion with Indian counterparts to promote trade and investment provided they showed the sincerity of purpose”, adding: “Onus remains on India to take necessary steps to engage towards the result-oriented solutions.”

The prime minister highlighted India’s unabated atrocities in Jammu and Kashmir for last seven decades, where he said, the Kashmiris faced continued denial of their right to self-determination. He urged other countries to take notice of India’s “bullet over ballot” policy

India, he said, blatantly quashed the United Nations Security Council’s resolution on holding a plebiscite in Kashmir. India has become a threat to its minorities, neighbours and the entire region,” the prime minister told the gathering.

In his speech Shehbaz focused on peace among nations to achieve the goal of prosperity. ”I want to leave behind a legacy of peace and progress for the prosperity of the coming generations of our region.”

The people deserved the resources were diverted towards their education and health, he added.

Shehbaz called for pooling resources among the regional countries to address the common challenges in the interest of peace and progress. ”If we team our resources, Asia can stand with pride and achievement,” he said. “Through constructive dialogue, we can build mutual trust.”

He mentioned Pakistan’s location offering a natural bridge among various economies of the region and invited the CICA member states to consider benefiting from the trade, investment and business opportunities offered by Pakistan.

“Pakistan’s first priority at the moment is to revive rapid and equitable economy,” the prime minister said, expressing his confidence that the country would “emerge stronger” after the flood disaster. “Pakistan, with the support of its people and the friendly countries, will come out of this problem,” he said.

The prime minister, in his speech, also dilated on the Palestine dispute and Afghanistan situation and stressed the need for a peaceful way to resolve them. He also pointed out that Pakistan borne the brunt of climate change despite its less than 1% carbon omissions.

Earlier, upon his arrival at the Palace of Independence – the venue of the CICA summit – Shehbaz was warmly welcomed by Kazakhstan’s President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev. The prime minister along with other heads of state and government also had a group photograph before the summit was opened.

On the sidelines of the summit, the prime minister met with President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev of Kazakhstan, President Alexander Lukashenko of Belarus, President Emomali Rahmon of Tajikistan and Vice President Nguyen Thi Anh Xuan of Vietnamese.

At the end of his two-day visit, Prime Minister Shehbaz left Astana for home. The prime minister and his delegation were seen off by Kazakhstan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Yerulan Zhamaubayev at the Nursultan Nazarbayev International Airport.