Pakistan does not want aid or assistance from US: PM
Shares
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi says Pakistan wants to work with the United States in the fight against terrorism and the two sides should address any concern on the subject through dialogue.
In an interview with a group of foreign media representatives in Islamabad, he said we respect other's sovereignty and expect the same from them.
The Prime Minister said the United States had not clarified some of the perceptions that were raised after President Trump's policy statement on Afghanistan and South Asia.
He said Pakistan needed more collaboration between the two countries in various areas rather than aid and assistance.
To a question, Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said Pakistan was open to close cooperation with the United States as their ties were decades old and could not be defined on the basis of one issue, the Afghan issue.
To another question, the Prime Minister said Pakistan is more committed than any other country in the region for peaceful resolution of the Afghan issue.
He said Pakistan has suffered massively due to instability in Afghanistan and believes that the solution to the Afghan conflict should be Afghan-led and Afghan-owned.
The Prime Minister strongly rejected allegations about terrorists’ sanctuaries inside Pakistan and said North Waziristan shared the same terrain with the border areas of Afghanistan but questioned what the International Security Assistance Force had achieved there.
He said that Pakistan was open to bilateral verifications and joint patrols. It had fenced its border with Afghanistan and would welcome if Kabul does the same on their side.
Meanwhile, chairing a high-level meeting to review trade balance and measures to boost exports, Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi directed to ensure that no option considered should have a dampening impact on Pakistan's economic growth rate and development.
The meeting also focused on GSP Plus status and reviewed various measures to expand and deepen exports into the European markets.
The Prime Minister stated that he would like the Pakistani diplomatic missions abroad to serve as economic and trade ambassadors of Pakistan.
Ministry for Commerce presented various short term and medium term options to enhance exports and contain imports.
