ISLAMABAD: Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on Friday reiterated Pakistan’s opposition to join any bloc politics or relapse into the “Cold War” and warned that forging military alliances and assigning the role of “net security provider” to some countries at the expense of others will have grave consequences for regional security.
The foreign minister was addressing the 50th Foundation Day ceremony of the Institute of Strategic Studies, Islamabad (ISSI).
“Pakistan has clearly voiced its opposition to any bloc politics or relapse into the Cold War. Forging military alliances and assigning the role of ‘net security provider’ to some countries at the expense of others is fraught with grave consequences,” Bilawal said.
In our view, he added that the main driver for international relations should be cooperation, rather than confrontation.
“There is everything to be gained from economic interdependence and peaceful coexistence, and everything to lose from a mindless drift into confrontation and conflict. We hope prudence will prevail and the world would step back from the precipice,” he hoped.
He said that Pakistan is committed to forging good relations with all major powers, beyond the US and China, including Russia, Europe and Japan as well as ASEAN and the Republic of Korea.
“We reinforced and deepened our traditional partnerships with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Turkiye, Iran, and Qatar…We see a positive trend in Pakistan-Africa bilateral linkages in terms of trade, political, parliamentary, military and security cooperation,” he added.
Bilawal pointed out that the “All-weather Strategic Cooperative Partnership” between Pakistan and China has been enduring and mutually beneficial over several decades.
He said that China remains a steadfast and reliable partner, and our bilateral ties continue to strengthen across myriad fields. He added that Pakistan is fully committed to ensuring the success of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), which has a transformational effect as it completes its first decade this year.
He said that the CPEC’s extension to Afghanistan and further West would help significantly advance our agenda of connectivity and economic integration.
About relations with the US, he said that there has been positive momentum in the Pak-US relationship, adding that the new government took over when the momentum of bilateral ties had stalled.
“Proactive outreach resulted in high-level visits from both sides. We are confident that de-hyphenation of relations would further contribute to the strengthening of our bilateral relations,” he added.
With Russia, he added that Pakistan continues to build a relationship based on trust, understanding and close cooperation on regional and international issues of common concern. He said that there is so much potential to be realised across multiple sectors between Pakistan and Russia.
“As a friend of both Russia and Ukraine, we hope that there will be a move towards a peaceful resolution of the ongoing conflict through dialogue and diplomacy. As Pakistan has stressed throughout, there has to be an adherence to the time-honoured principles of inter-state relations and the UN Charter – including respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity,” he asserted.
Bilawal said that Europe had forsaken war.
“We earnestly hope the current drift would be reversed and a beginning would be made towards addressing mutual concerns and building sustainable peace in Europe again,” he added.
About relations with India, he added that currently, it is marked by an atmosphere of mistrust, primarily due to India’s illegal and unilateral actions of 5 August 2019.
He said that Pakistan is committed to having cooperative and good-neighbourly relations with India, on the basis of mutual respect and sovereign equalities.
To move forward, he added that India will have to address the obstacles that hinder peaceful coexistence, reverse its illegal measures in the IIOJK, and create an enabling environment for meaningful engagement and result-oriented dialogue.
“Pakistan remains committed to a peaceful resolution of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute in accordance with the UN Security Council resolution and the wishes of the Kashmiri people,” he said.
He added that if this dispute is resolved in a just and fair manner, not only durable peace will be established in South Asia but also the peace dividends would contribute to the well-being and prosperity of the 1/5 (one-fifth) of humanity residing in our region.
He referred to his visit to Goa recently to participate in the SCO-CFM, adding that the SCO Heads of State (HOS) meeting is going to be held soon in India.
“As Pakistan was considering the mode of Prime Minister’s participation in the SCO summit, India announced to hold the summit in virtual format,” he said, adding that Pakistan is committed to engagement through multilateral organisations including SCO, UN and other multilateral organisations.
In light of the recent political developments in Afghanistan, Bilawal said that the international community must maintain a pragmatic approach and constructive engagement.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2023