Pakistan for closer ties with both China and US: envoy

WASHINGTON: Pakistan has urged the United States to enhance its participation in projects under the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) to accelerate the pace of economic growth in the region.

In his address at a major US think tank, Pakistan's ambassador Aizaz Chaudhry said his country's closer ties with China are not a zero sum game for the United States.

“Pakistan wants to have a broad-based, mutually beneficial relationship with China and the US at the same time.” the ambassador said while speaking at the World Affairs Council here on Monday.

He said CPEC is not an exclusive programme. US companies like General Electric are already providing services for some power generation projects under the CPEC.

Highlighting the potential of the economic corridor for progress in the region, Chaudhry said Pakistan wants other neighbouring countries including Afghanistan to benefit from the opportunity.

“Pakistan is moving forward towards development and one of the key requirements for the development is peace. This is why the country wants peaceful Afghanistan,” he said.

The ambassador also stressed that the country wants peace and good relations with India but it can’t accept Indian hegemony.

 He informed the audience that narrative has changed in Islamabad and not only the government but also Pakistani nation wants lasting peace. 

Ambassador Aizaz Chaudhry said that Pakistan is looking for a broad-based, sustainable and not a transactional relationship with the US. “Pakistan and the US have historic relations spanning over seven decades. Whenever Pakistan and the US worked together in the past, both the countries benefited and it had yielded positive results.”

He mentioned that 50,000 Pakistani physicians are working in the US while around a million plus Pakistani diaspora is working as a bridge between the two countries.

While apprising the audience about the tremendous economic turnaround, he said the perceptions about Pakistan are lagging behind reality.

On Pak-India relations, Ambassador Chaudhry said that India has suspended the dialogue process which does not serve any purpose. Rather it further deteriorates the bilateral relations between the two countries. Terrorism is a common enemy. Both the countries should cooperate with each other. Pakistan is ready for a dialogue with India whenever it is ready. As far as Kashmir issue is concerned, Pakistan would continue to support innocent Kashmiris diplomatically, morally and politically. The latest insurgency in Indian Occupied Kashmir is indigenous. India is using force and committing horrendous human rights violations which breeds hatred among Kashmiris against Indian occupation forces. For instance Indian Occupation forces have blinded approximately 1,000 Kashmiris by using pellet guns.

On a question related to Afghanistan, Ambassador Aizaz Chaudhry said that peace in Afghanistan is Pakistan’s highest priority. A stable, prosperous and developed Afghanistan is not only in favour of Pakistan but the entire region. Pakistan wants systematic border management along Pak-Afghan border in order to check the cross border movement of miscreants effectively.

Ambassador Chaudhry further said that there is a tendency to put blame on Pakistan for failure in Afghanistan which is not fair. “Afghanistan has multiple problems which are not related to terrorism only. Pakistan cannot be made a scapegoat,”.

Pakistan firmly believes that a comprehensive approach is required to find an amicable solution of the Afghan problem. There is no military solution to the Afghanistan issue. A comprehensive political strategy is required

Ambassador Chaudhry reiterated Pakistan’s commitment to eliminating terrorism in all its forms and manifestations. He said clearly that Pakistan will never allow its soil to be used against any other country and expects that no other country will allow anyone to operate from there against Pakistan.