MULTAN – Foreign Minister Makhdoom Shah Mehmood Qureshi has reiterated Pakistan’s commitment to regional peace for diversion of resources to development and prosperity.
He expressed these views while addressing a reception hosted in his honour by Deputy Attorney General Mahr Zameer Hussain Sandhal near Head Muhammadwala here late Sunday night.
The foreign minister said that he had cut short his Multan schedule to embark on a whirlwind tour of four countries including Afghanistan, Iran, China and Moscow.
He said that the development process could be accelerated in the region by virtue of regional peace and added that Pakistan wanted good relations with its neighbours, including India. “Pakistan wanted peace on its eastern and western borders.”
The FM said that when Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) took over the government, Pak-Saudi and Pak-UAE relations were at the lowest ebb and that too at a time when country’s foreign reserves were low and the economy was under stress.
He said that two visits were paid to Saudi Arabia and now Saudis have agreed to give Pakistan three billion dollars besides oil on deferred payment for three consecutive years.
He added that the government also improved relations with the UAE at a time when it was planning to invest in India on projects worth more than $20 billion. Pakistan has now improved relations with the UAE and now they are ready to make investments in Pakistan and have also agreed to give Pakistan oil worth $3 billion on deferred payments.
Qureshi said that regional issues could better be addressed through talks. He said that America was in Afghanistan for the last 18 years. He said that Pakistan had been airing its point of view that Afghan issue could not be resolved through warfare. Now, our point of view has been reinforced by Americans when they came on negotiating table with Taliban in Abu Dhabi recently, the FM said.
He said that Pakistan greatly suffered in the fight against terrorism, adding that more than 85,000 people had sacrificed their lives so far in the country. He added that Pakistan suffered attacks on mosques, shrines, bazaars and even schools, including the APS Peshawar.
He said that China had invested in Pakistan through CPEC, a mega multi-billion-dollar initiative, and the incumbent government had taken it to the Second Stage Level.
The foreign minister said that Pakistan had requested China to prioritise specific economic zones to create new employment opportunities.
He said that the world’s biggest oil refinery was going to be built in Balochistan near new Gawader port, which would generate a great number of employment as was promised by the PTI government, led by Imran Khan.
Qureshi said that Pakistan was willing to normalise its relations with India and had opened the Kartarpur corridor as a goodwill gesture.
He said that the Sikh community attached great religious importance to Kartarpur, where Baba Guru Nanak had spent the last18 years of his life.
Earlier, Sikh community used to see this sacred place through binoculars, he said adding that it was a 70 years old demand of Sikh Community, which had been fulfilled by the PTI-led government.
The foreign minister described the opening of Kartarpur border as a diplomatic success of the government and added that the nation would see its impact in the forthcoming years. Pakistan had won the hearts of Sikh community all over the world by that initiative.
He said Pakistan’s commitment to peace was unquestionable and added that resources should be spent on education, health, provision of clean drinking water, public transport etc.
He said that the world dynamics were changing very quickly and added that Pakistan also wanted to build good relations with Moscow.
Qureshi said that he was also trying to build economic relations with almost 20 countries of the European Union. It would be a new milestone in the history of Pakistan, he said adding that it will bring huge foreign investment to the country.
All the paperwork had been completed and signing of those economic cooperation agreements would be held soon, he said.
The foreign minister said that PTI government had decided to make south Punjab province in principle. However, it needed amendment in the Constitution and the government had reached out to the major opposition parties.
He said that all the parties should move forward with the south Punjab province, which would bring numerous benefits to the deprived people of south Punjab. There would be a separate Secretariat in the south Punjab, a separate chief secretary and inspector general of ploice, he added.
The people of south Punjab would have their problems solved at their doorstep instead of moving all the way to Lahore, he said. There would be a separate high court which would open new avenues for the lawyers of that region.
The province would have a separate share in the National Financial Commission’s Award, Qureshi said adding that money could be spent for the development of south Punjab.
There would be equal seats for south Punjab in the Senate, so there would be many Senators from that region.
Makhdoom Shah Mehmood Qureshi said that PTI government had decided in principle to establish at least a separate sub-secretariat in South Punjab till the time the required constitutional amendment was made.
He said that Punjab was a big province having a population of 120 million people. It was a big population, difficult to govern by a single administrative set up, he added.
