South Asian Gazette Worldwide News Work
Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif on Thursday said, “Pakistan and China have made a beautiful example of friendship”.
Addressing the media after a China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) event in Islamabad, the minister said President Xi Jinping’s “one belt, one route” vision will benefit 65 countries in the region.
Asif further remarked that the Chinese president’s vision was not only the foundation of CPEC development, but also a powerful source of regional economic cooperation. He added that troubled situation of Afghanistan was acting as a stumbling block in regional peace and harmony.
The minister maintained that the interests of the state were superior to personal or institutional interests. “As a political worker, I believe that the ongoing uncertainty in the country will not affect CPEC in any sense,” he said, adding that he hopes that the country will soon come out of the crisis.
He further added that Pakistan needed to learn from mistakes of the past. He also informed that the ongoing thermal electricity projects will be complete by May 2018. “Consumers who pay the bills will be given uninterrupted electricity, while those who escape from payments will not be given any electricity,” he said.
Asif severely criticised atrocities committed in Indian-occupied Kashmir (IoK), citing the indifference of the global community to solve the territorial clash. “We are unfortunate to have such a neighbouring state,” he lamented.
He added that Pakistan will continue to strike in the event of violations on the Working Boundary by India. “There seems to be no easy way out for the crisis engulfing Afghanistan. Talibans are a political reality of Afghanistan and the country also belongs to them,” he said.
He further said, “We wish to see peace in Afghanistan so we welcome its president’s proposal of dialogue with Taliban.” He expressed desire for the United States (US) to adopt a more balanced policy for the region, saying that the seed of Afghanistan’s turmoil was planted during the 1980s and it was due to the subsequent surrender of former president Musharraf the the situation got worsened.
