ISLAMABAD: Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Tuesday, called upon the United States not to put Pakistan into “test”, as it wants cordial relations with all the major powers in order to cope with the economic and social challenges, while staying away from becoming part of anyone’s unnecessary war.
Addressing Margalla Dialogue Forum 2021 and later talking to journalists, Qureshi said that two days ago, US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman had a telephonic contact with him and expressed the US’ desire to deepen its relations with Pakistan beyond its involvement in Afghanistan.
“She [Sherman] told me, and I am satisfied to hear, that she stated that they [the US] want to deepen their bilateral relations with Pakistan and beyond the cooperation on Afghanistan’s issue. It shows a positive change in the mindset of the Biden administration and we welcome it,” he added.
However, in response to another question about Pakistan’s role amid rising tension between the US and China, the foreign minister said that Pakistan has decided that it would not become part of anyone’s war and rather keep good ties with all the major powers.
“I would like to urge the US not to put Pakistan into any sort of test, which we may not be able to accomplish. This is our expectation from the US,” he said.
About keeping a balance in Islamabad’s ties with Washington and Beijing, Qureshi acknowledged that it was not an easy task, particularly, if Washington continues to overlook the problems created by New Delhi.
“If they [the US] continues to pursue the China containment policy, and on the basis of this policy, it continues to overlook the problems created by India, then it would be difficult [to keep a balance]. But, we have decided that we have to look into our own interest, which is, we would not become a part again to anyone’s unnecessary war,” he asserted.
Earlier, in his address to the participants of the Margalla Dialogue, Qureshi said that the world order seems in a state of severe stress and disarray, adding that the recent strategic competition between global powers has intensified making world peace fragile and the direction of diplomacy, unpredictable.
He said that Pakistan has made a strategic pivot from geopolitics to geo-economics and this has made economic diplomacy all the more important. Positioning Pakistan as a geo-economic center with unparalleled regional connectivity has to come as a mindset, top down, he added.
Due to this shift, he added that as of November 2021, Pakistan’s exports to the UK have grown 28 percent in a Covid year and also, since our Engage Africa Conference in December 2019 in Islamabad, trade with Africa has gone up seven percent.
While referring to a Bloomberg report, he claimed that this year alone $300 million have been invested in start-ups in Pakistan by the US, Singapore, and UAE. About Pakistan-China relations, he said that the ties with China are resilient and poised to grow further. The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), of which the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is the flagship project, will leverage economic geography and connectivity of the three contiguous continents – Asia, Europe, and Africa – ushering in prosperity for all global citizens, he added.
Referring to ties with the US, he said that Pakistan values its longstanding relations with the US. “Looking towards the future, we do not want a transactional relationship with the US. We want multifaceted ties that are not susceptible to the vagaries of regional and international policies,” he added.
He said that Pakistan wants a relationship with the US that is in sync with our changed priority, adding that enhanced trade and investment ties with the US and cooperation in regard to regional connectivity can work to our mutual benefit.
With Russia, he added that Pakistan’s diplomatic outreach has not only led to rapprochement but opened doors for reinvigorated relations in the security and economic realms. “The Pak-Russia trajectory is contributing to stability in the region and we will continue to strengthen it,” he added.
“The upshot is that a country like Pakistan sitting astride the crossroads of South, Central and West Asia cannot make binary choices. We will remain equidistant, accessible to all, reaching out to all,” he added.
On Afghanistan, he said that the UN has warned that 60 percent of Afghanistan’s 38 million people are facing hunger or starvation and there is a dire humanitarian crisis looming, which has consequences not only for the people of Afghanistan but indeed us as neighbours, the region, and beyond.
He added that Pakistan will host an extraordinary session of the Organisation of the Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM) on December 19 to mobilise support for providing adequate food, medicine, and housing to millions of Afghans in dire distress.
He added that Pakistan continues to work at every level for a stable, peaceful and prosperous regional future. “We have advocated and worked for the establishment of an inclusive polity in Afghanistan, respecting the rights of all ethnic and religious minorities as well as of women,” he said, adding that the Afghan government has assured all its neighbours that their soil will not be allowed to be used for terrorism. The same message has been given by Kabul to extra-regional powers, he added.
Qureshi also warned the world against repeating the strategic blunder of the early 1990s that led to a spate of civil wars, drought and terrorism, whose consequences we have been facing for the past 30 years.
About India, he said that Pakistan’s quest for peace and geo economic strength cannot be a solo performance, adding that “it takes two to tango”. He said that India chose to close all doors on any kind of talks and took the most drastic militaristic steps to invade and lay siege to the disputed territory of the Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), disenfranchise its 14 million people, and brutalise them, he added.
“Indian atrocities are too egregious to be masked by the veneer of secularism and democratic pretentions. It is the duty of the UN and the international community to hold India accountable for this unconscionable state of affairs,” he added.
He said that India must realise that without resolving the Kashmir issue we cannot free the peoples of South Asia from perennial instability. Former foreign minister Hina Rabbani Khar said that the US counterterrorism strategies in Afghanistan have spawned many terrorists in the neighbouring country. She said that Pakistan has long endured the effects of the Soviet presence in Afghanistan and now bearing the brunt of the US withdrawal from Afghanistan.
British High Commissioner Dr Christian Turner said that Pakistan needs to focus on its economic growth, particularly, exclusive economic growth, jobs, poverty alleviation etc, adding that with the current rate of population growth, Pakistan needs one and a half million jobs per year.
On Afghanistan, he added that collective efforts are needed, adding that they wanted Afghanistan to be freed of terror, respect for minorities rights, and to make sure that girls are going to schools. He said that Afghanistan is a shared responsibility and all are concerned alike about the humanitarian crisis.
He also stated that regional connectivity was a must for regional cooperation and economic growth, adding that there was a need to work together to build regional connectivity in South Asia. For this, he added that some way of de-escalation between Pakistan and India was required. He said that Pakistan and India need to resolve their issues themselves as no external solution is possible.
Russian Ambassador to Pakistan Danila V Ganich said that Russia acknowledges Pakistan’s efforts with regard to restoration of peace in Afghanistan and countering the international threat of terrorism. He also warned about the serious repercussions for global peace emanating from the European Union’s “serious confrontational” policy on the issue of Ukraine.
Former US ambassador to Pakistan, Rabin Raphel said that today, Afghanistan faces a major humanitarian challenge, adding that saving the lives of millions of Afghans should be a priority. She stated that easing sanctions and unfreezing Afghan assets would allow the Afghan government to deal with the humanitarian crisis.
At the diplomatic level, she added that the US withdrawal was seen as a major diplomatic blow, adding that the withdrawal of the US troops from Afghanistan has provided an opportunity for a long-term and broader reconciliation in Afghanistan.
She said that counterterrorism cooperation is in the interest of all regional powers, including the Taliban. After 9/11, she added that the US came to Afghanistan to take revenge, which resulted in massive corruption in Afghanistan and many others also benefited from the war. The Russian envoy termed Kashmir dispute as a bilateral issue between Pakistan and India.
Pang Chunxue, deputy head of mission, China threw light on China’s strategy to cope with climate change and also highlighted the major achievements, besides presenting an overview of the Pak-China bilateral relations.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2021
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