Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi on Thursday said Pakistan will receive remaining $3 billion pledged by the Friends of Democratic Pakistan (FoDP) by October this year. Talking to media at the farewell ceremony for Pakistani youth delegates participating in the 5th World Youth Congress in Turkey at Arts Council of Pakistan here on Thursday.
Qureshi said that the FoDP had pledged $5.2 billion in Tokyo of which $2.2 billion have been received. He pointed out that the FoDP will meet again in Brussels in October 2010 and Pakistan will be receiving the remaining amount pledged by these countries before that meeting.
He made it clear that Pakistan Afghan Transit Trade Agreement is a bilateral agreement between Pakistan and Afghanistan. He said there should be no confusion as the agreement was signed only by the Pakistani and Afghan ministers. "India was not mentioned in this agreement," he added.
On a query, the foreign minister said both Pakistan and India have realised that dialogue is the only way to resolve all disputes between the two neighbouring countries. He said Pakistan is ready to resume dialogue with India to discuss all disputes.
He said Pakistan respects Indian concerns on terrorism and Bombay attack. However, India should also respect Pakistani concerns on the situation in occupied Kashmir and the issue of water. On a question about Pak-Iran gas pipeline, he said the project is in progress. He pointed out that the government is considering dedicating all the gas of this project for power generation to overcome the shortage of power in the country.
On another question, the foreign minister said that a stable and peaceful Afghanistan is in interest of Pakistan. He said the world community recognises Pakistan''s efforts in war on terror. He pointed out that Afghan President Hamid Karzai has also appreciated Pakistan''s efforts on this front. He said Pakistan has deployed over 150,000 troops with over 1000 posts at its western borders to control the situation.
Earlier, while speaking at the ceremony, Qureshi congratulated the 45 Pakistani youth delegates selected to represent Pakistan in the 5th World Youth Congress to be held in Turkey. He asked the delegates to project true picture of liberal and democratic Pakistan while attending the event.
He said the 40 percent of the country''s total population is youth. "We should invest in our people," he said, adding that education and health sectors were neglected in the past and it is needed to focus on these sectors. He mentioned that Pakistan and Turkey enjoy excellent bilateral relations built over generations. These relations are not confined to government level, as people of both countries love and respect each other.
He thanked the Turkish Ambassador to Pakistan for facilitating and waiving visa fee for Pakistani delegates. Speaker Sindh Assembly Nisar Ahmed Khuhro, Deputy Speaker Shehla Raza, Minister for Youth Affairs Faisal Sabzwari, Turkish Consul General in Karachi and General Secretary Pakistan Arts Council, Karachi were also present on the occasion.