Pakistan faces perception issue in international media: Janjua

National Security Adviser Lieutenant-General Nasser Khan Janjua (retd) said on Sunday that Pakistan faces a perception problem in international mediaa which needs to be corrected He said this while speaking at an international conference on news agencies here in Islamabad.
The adviser said that Pakistan has always contributed to global stability but it faces a perception problem in the international media. He also tried to clarify that Pakistan has never played any double game in Afghanistan as portrayed in the media. He said that different perceptions exist about Pakistan in the world; sometimes it is considered a poor Muslim country that is insecure due to threats of extremism and terrorism.
The adviser said that Pakistan is also seen as a nuclear country where nuclear weapons could land into hands of terrorists, adding that Pakistan is a country of over two hundred million people and holds rich culture and diversity, which needs to be highlighted in international media.
Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb is the guest of honour while National Security Advisor Nasser Khan Janjua the chief guest at the inaugural session. Delegates from over a dozen countries are attending the event to discuss current challenges being faced by media especially news agencies and evolve a new strategy to cope with them.
Janjua said Pakistan has paid a huge price in war against terrorism and sacrificed more than seventy thousand lives to eradicate this scourge and bring peace in the country and the region.He said Washington is blaming Pakistan for its own failures in Afghanistan while Islamabad is sincere in bringing peace in the neighbouring country and has provided all out assistance in this regard.
Pakistan believes in peaceful neighbourhood but Afghanistan should not use its soil for activities against the immediate neighbours on the behest of others, he added.The adviser also sensitized the participants over the regional security environment and stressed that the United States and the West should play a positive role in maintaining security of the region which over a period has become quite fragile.
Giving a presentation on regional security situation, he said Pakistan has lost over 60,000 lives and billions of dollars in the war and highlighted that how people of Pakistan, armed forces, law enforcement agencies and intelligence agencies performed brilliantly and resiliently after 1979 and September 11.
He said that every investment has been made to win Afghan war, but unfortunately we have not invested in winning peace, adding that Pakistan and Afghanistan share a lot of opportunities and have common economic future with a potential to connect to the markets of Europe, Africa and rest of Asia.
On the China Pakistan Economic Corridor, he said that it was only half of the China's Belt and Road Initiative dream, with Afghanistan being the other half as it will connect Central Asia and Europe. He said Pakistan believed that building of economic corridor was conducive to promoting connectivity and shared prosperity of the entire region.