Pakistan is keen to see a durable and sustainable regional security with four dimensions, Ambassador Masood Khan has said. Highlighting these four dimensions in an interview on Friday.
Ambassador Masood Khan said that first, we should definitively address issues related to counterterrorism, second, we should have conditions of peace and stability in Afghanistan, third, Pakistan and India should build confidence and address outstanding issues and fourth but most importantly, we are making efforts to accelerate Pakistan's economic development and are participating in activities aimed at regional economic integration and connectivity. "This is a holistic concept of regional security," he observed.
About domestic challenges faced by Pakistan, he said, "we are consolidating democracy, developing our economy, and forging unity "Our quest for stability is what defines our struggle today. We have to get rid of terrorism and extremism, the two evils that have plagued our country for a while. We want to move past this stage to create conditions for rapid development of our economy as well as social harmony. Pakistani nation has the will, the ability and the environment for achieving these objectives," he noted.
Our relationship with the United States was important, Ambassador Khan said when asked to comment on Pak-US ties. "We have a longstanding relationship dating back to the 1950s. We have worked together and our collaboration has produced good relations. We have also had differences which both nations have discussed openly."
In the present phase, he said, "we hope to remove irritants and restore the productivity of the relationship for both countries." He pointed out that there was still unfinished agenda in Afghanistan next door. Terrorism has to be defeated. "We have to reconstruct war ravaged economies. Peace and stability have to be brought back to the region. We should meet these challenges together respecting each others sovereign decision making space."
Regarding Sino-Pak relations, he said the current focus on youth and cultural ties was going to strengthen our relations. "We need to do more of this. For instance, right now there are only 6,000 Pakistani students studying in different parts of China.
This number should go up. As we expand our economic and trade ties, we would need thousands of professionals in China and Pakistan who know both countries well. Recently, in Pakistani educational institutions, a trend is setting in for learning Chinese language and culture. These trends are very good. Both countries have been nurtured by river civilisations," he added.
Besides, he said, the two countries were joined by rivers and mountains. "We also have strong civilisation links. We need to rediscover and highlight these links. Trade and culture can go hand in hand. As we revive the historic Silk Route, we should also simultaneously renew our cultural ties." Ambassador Khan regarded the Communist Party of China (CPC) as the most successful political party of the 20th and 21st centuries, and said the party had given the Chinese nation dignity, sovereignty, and independence.
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