Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday said Pakistan will no more join any alliance for any other country’s war rather play the role of a ‘reconciliator or bridge-builder’.
“Pakistan has learned lessons from its foreign policy of last four decades and we will not fight someone else’s war,” he said while addressing the concluding session of Margalla Dialogue 2019 held here on ‘Peace and Development in South Asia, Middle East and Central Asia (SAMECA)’.
The two-day dialogue organised by the Islamabad Policy Research Institute (IPRI) gathered security and political experts from 13 countries to discuss scenario of challenges facing the region.
The prime minister recalled that Pakistan suffered immensely being a front line state during 1980’s Afghan Jihad and the American war on terror following the 9/11 incident. He said though the foreign funding flowed into Pakistan during wars, the cost paid in shape of disaster in society is much higher. “The impact on society is yet to analyse the gravity of negativity that these wars inflicted upon Pakistan,” he said. “For this reason, we have now decided to play role of bridge-builders and reconciliators,” he added.
About foreign policy of two major world powers, the prime minister said China’s focus on infrastructure development has a superior standing as compared to the United States which spent trillions of dollars on wars against other countries. He said Pakistan is heading towards path of progress by taking corrective measures including introducing ease of doing business mechanism and promotion of tourism and sports in the country. He said Pakistan is making continuous efforts to restore peace in neighbourhood, including promotion of Afghan peace process and also through reconciliatory efforts between Saudi Arabia and Iran to ease the conflict.
Imran Khan says Islamabad will now play role of a ‘reconciliator or bridge-builder’
Speaking at another session, Advisor to Prime Minister on Finance, Revenue and Economic Affairs Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh said the reasons as to why some countries have done better than others carry big lessons. “There are three important answers to this question: one, we cannot have developed countries with underdeveloped people. Skill enhancement and technical capacities are very vital. People should be the main focus of any development initiative. Two, no country has done it alone. The only way to grow an economy is by selling one’s products to others and to ensure that others partner with us, especially neighbours. Third, the only way to develop is when you allow your private sector to develop and work unencumbered.”
Addressing the session, Senior Adviser at ICBC Singapore and former governor of State Bank of Pakistan Yaseen Anwar said China’s Belt and Road Initiative gives access to capital for those connected emerging markets that have not had the necessary investment grade ratings to tap international markets. “Infrastructure, the core of Belt and Road funding, is and has been the engine of growth for most economies,” he said. However, he lamented that lack of quality infrastructure has hampered the economic development that many Belt and Road related countries sorely need.
