Islamabad- Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday said India will be benefitted economically by having peace with his country as it will be able to directly access resource-rich Central Asia through it.
Delivering the inaugural address at the launch of the two-day Islamabad Security Dialogue, Khan also said that his government after coming to power in 2018 did everything for better ties with India and it was for India to reciprocate.
India will have to take the first step. Unless they do so, we cannot do much, he said.
India last month said that it desires normal neighbourly relations with Pakistan in an environment free of terror, hostility and violence. India has said the onus is on Pakistan to create such an environment.
The prime minister discussed Pakistan’s vision of comprehensive national security, built on the pillars of traditional and non-traditional security, including his vision for economic prosperity and human welfare.
Khan dwelt at length on the issue of peace in the region, including peace between Pakistan and India, saying “the unresolved Kashmir issue was the biggest hurdle between the two countries.”
If India gives the Kashmiris their right under the UN (resolutions), it will be greatly beneficial for Pakistan as well as for India, he said and added, India can access Central Asia after peace.
Khan said that having a direct route to the Central Asian region will economically benefit India.
Central Asia, in the modern context, generally includes five resource-rich countries — Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.
India and Pakistan had announced on February 25 that they have agreed to strictly observe all agreements on ceasefire along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir and other sectors.
Talking about non-traditional threats to Pakistan, Khan said that climate change, food security and a weak economy were among the biggest challenges in the quest to realise the full concept of security.
Khan said his initiative of Ten billion tree tsunami was being hailed by the world, while his government was also working to achieve food security.
He acknowledged that improving the national economy was the biggest challenge but his government was trying to reduce trade deficit and control inflation so that the financial condition of common people could improve.
We cannot become a secure nation when a small rich minority is surrounded by the sea of poor people National security is achieved when a nation stands up to secure itself, he said at the dialogue organised by the National Security Division and think-tanks comprising the Advisory Board of National Security Committee.
Khan also praised all-weather ally China for its “successful” handling of poverty and lifting more than 700 million people out of poverty in the last three decades.
It is their big achievement whether you like China or not, he said.
Khan said that Pakistan’s 25 per cent population was suffering from extreme poverty and another 25 per cent was just slightly better.
He said the government already launched Ehsaas programme to give cash to the poor people and another programme of giving targeted subsidies to the poor was being launched.
Khan also talked about peace in Afghanistan and reiterated support for the ongoing peace process by saying that Pakistan would be the greatest beneficiary of a stable Afghanistan.
The Islamabad Security Dialogue is envisioned as an annual flagship security forum based on the model of major dialogues on security and international policy.
The National Security Division, in collaboration with leading think-tanks that are part of its advisory board, has taken this initiative to provide a platform for critical thinking and robust intellectual discourse on some of the most pressing challenges and opportunities being faced by Pakistan and the wider region, according to an official statement.
The two-day event is being attended virtually by international thinkers and scholars, members from the Federal Cabinet, diplomatic corps, former government officials, academia, think-tanks and civil society members.
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