ISLAMABAD, April 9: Underlining the need for promotion of interfaith harmony, Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz has said that in today’s world all of us need to break taboos, think as citizen of the world and work for peace and conflict-resolution to exploit true potential of various regions as it is vital for poverty alleviation and development.
Talking to a delegation of British schoolchildren visiting Pakistan to have first-hand knowledge of the country, the prime minister said that harder efforts should be made to promote inter-civilization harmony in order to make the world a better place to live, says a press release issued here on Sunday.
Mr Aziz said Islam is a religion of peace, brotherhood and compassion and teaches tolerance and respect for all faiths. He said Pakistan government is promoting interfaith dialogue between religious leaders at local level, which is producing positive results.
The prime minister gave an overview of Pakistan’s foreign policy, defence and security considerations, priorities in social sector, economic reforms and regional issues. He said Pakistan is situated at the crossroads of Central, Western and South Asia and working for peace and stability in the region.
He said Pakistan wants resolution of all outstanding issues with India including the core issue of Kashmir and is committed to the process for dialogue with India. Pakistan is in favour of a Kashmir solution which is acceptable to Pakistan, India and the Kashmiris.
“Sustainable peace in the region will not be possible without resolution of Kashmir issue and only peace will help South Asia alleviate poverty and under development,” he said.
Mr Aziz said that Pakistan is pushing the peace process aggressively and passionately. Some progress has been made on CBMs and the suggestions made by Pakistan provide a ground for meaningful dialogue. All leaders will have to show flexibility, magnanimity sincerity and commitment to solve the issue, he added.
Commenting on the Afghan issue the prime minister said Pakistan desires to see stability and prosperity in Afghanistan as a strong, stable and vibrant Afghanistan is good for its people as well as Pakistan.
Commenting on defence and security issues, he said Pakistan is a peace-loving country and has no aggressive designs against any country. The government has a policy of maintaining minimum credible deterrence to guard the country’s integrity and sovereignty, he added.
Appraising the delegation of the economic and structural reforms agenda of the government, the prime minister said that the agenda initiated by the government about six years back was broad-based and covered every sector. Pakistan has gained an impressive economic recovery, which is now widely recognized across the world.—APP
