No armed group being allowed to dictate govt policy, Qureshi tells EU

ISLAMABAD: Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi on Wednesday told the European Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee (AFET) that Pakistan had moved against radical groups following violent protests and no armed pressure group was being allowed to dictate government policies.

In his virtual address to the AFET, the foreign minister said the government had firmly moved against radical groups after recent protests.

He assured the AFET that “no armed pressure group is being allowed to challenge the writ of the state and dictate government policies”.

The foreign minister expressed disappointment at the adoption of a resolution by the European Parliament on blasphemy laws in Pakistan, which he said, “reflected a lack of understanding of blasphemy laws and associated religious sensitivities in Pakistan and in the wider Muslim world”.

He added: “We need to appreciate the religious sentiments attached to the personality of the Holy Prophet (PBUH) and other religious symbols.”

He also said Pakistan stood ready to play its part for a positive and productive partnership with the European Union to harness the “enormous potential” in the areas of trade, climate change and digitisation.

The Pak-EU Strategic Engagement Plan, signed in June 2019, had ushered in a new phase in the relationship, he said.

Qureshi mentioned that the Pak-EU relationship had provided a solid foundation and framework for cooperation in multiple domains, including political and defence, trade and investment, promotion of democracy, rule of law, goodgovernance and human rights, migration and mobility, sustainable development, education and culture and science and technology. He expressed satisfaction that the Pak-EU relationship was moving steadily in a positive direction in all spheres of cooperation and expressed commitment to “remain engaged to further expand our multidimensional partnership”.

Qureshi said trade was an important aspect of the Pakistan-EU multi-faceted relationship. “While the GSP Plus has supported our exports, we have introduced reforms to attract foreign direct investment to maximally utilise this facility,” he added.

The foreign minister said Pakistan offered an open and deregulated market with 100 per cent equity ownership and repatriation of capital and dividends. He mentioned that over the last five years, Pakistan’s IT exports had increased by 151 per cent and offered the EU to benefit from the country’s human resource in the IT sector to realise its goals of digitisation. The foreign minister said Pakistan believed in the policy of restraint and peaceful coexistence and was well poised to assume an even greater role as a responsible and responsive member in the comity of nations.

He said Pakistan had consistently supported the peace process and the facilitation culminated in the US-Taliban Peace Agreement and subsequent commencement of Intra-Afghan negotiations.

He warned that continued violence following withdrawal of the US and Nato forces could potentially lead to rise in drugs production and exodus of Afghans from their country. “Pakistan stands as a gatekeeper in stemming the flow of illegal migrants and narcotics from Afghanistan,” he said.

He said Pakistan remained firmly committed to improving relations with all its neighbours, including India, however regretted that the overtures for peace were not reciprocated by India. “Instead, it unilaterally and illegally moved to change the status of Jammu and Kashmir — a UN recognised disputed territory, and vitiated the environment for dialogue. The onus is now on India to create an enabling environment, he said.

Qureshi said the Jammu and Kashmir dispute is indeed the single biggest obstacle in the way of building a durable and lasting peace in South Asia. A solution in accordance with the relevant UNSC resolutions and the wishes of the Kashmiri people is indispensable, he added.

He mentioned that the region’s strategic stability was threatened by the growing conventional asymmetry between Pakistan and India. He recalled that EU Disinfo Lab unearthed India’s nefarious activities and urged the EU authorities to take notice of this massive misinformation campaign against Pakistan and not let third countries misuse the name of EU institutions.