Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Monday accused India ofnuclearizing the Indian Ocean and said the New Delhi government, in thepursuit of hegemonic designs, inducted advanced weapons systems anddelivery platforms into its naval arsenals.
Speaking at the International Maritime Conference in the southern port cityof Karachi, Qureshi said his country will continue to take all necessarymeasures to ensure its security and to maintain credible minimumdeterrence, a statement from the Foreign Ministry said.
“The Indian Ocean offers promising potential for mutual cooperation andcollaboration. But geostrategic competition and the pursuit of militarydominance by some states have gravely jeopardized that potential,” Qureshisaid.
The foreign minister blamed that India’s belligerent and aggressivepolicies in particular, posed an immediate and pervasive threat tointernational and regional peace and security.
“The international community needs be cognizant of the fact that anymilitary conflict in South Asia could endanger stability in a region thatis critical for global trade flows and security,” the minister said.
The conference was part of a week-long multinational naval exercise hostedby Pakistan, which began on Friday in the Arabian Sea.
With the participation of some 45 countries, including the US, Russia,China, and Turkey, significantly, this is the first time in a decade thatMoscow has joined a military drill with NATO members. The last such timewas the Brazen Monarch exercise off the coast of Spain in 2011.
*China-Pakistan Economic Corridor *
Read Top Stories
The foreign minister termed the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) andthe development of Gwadar Port as game-changing projects that furtherenhanced the geo-economic significance of Pakistan.
“The Gwadar Port, which occupies a strategic location overlooking theStrait of Hormuz and the North Arabian Sea has the potential to developinto a full-fledged regional hub and a trans-shipment port,” Qureshi said.
The $64 billion CPEC – a network of roads, railroads, and pipelines – aimsto link China’s strategically important northwestern province of Xinxiangto the distant Gwadar port of Balochistan.
While the corridor will give China easy access to Africa and the Mideast,it will make Pakistan earn billions of dollars and spur business activitiesalong the road network replacing the fabled Silk Road.
“Gwadar Port also provides new vistas for businesses. Extraction oflife-saving medicines, coastal tourism, and the development of coastal realestate are industries that are attracting investment, both local andforeign,” he said.
