Says Pakistan will not play camp politics, calls foreign aid a \u2018curse\u2019
\n ISLAMABAD
\nPrime Minister Imran Khan has said that Pakistan will not play \u201ccamp politics\u201d as it wants to have trade relations with all countries to lift its populace out of poverty.
\nIn an interview with Russia\u2019s state-owned media outlet Russia Today on Tuesday, the prime minister talked about the illicit outflow of wealth from the developing world, climate change, the Russia-Ukraine conflict and ties between Islamabad and Moscow.
\nSpeaking about the Cold War that \u201cravaged\u201d the world from the 1950s to the 90s, the prime minister said Pakistan initially had joined a camp because it needed money after the influx of millions of refugees in the aftermath of partition.
\n\u201cBut the country should have left the US camp after a decade or so and pursued an independent policy,\u201d he said, calling reliance on foreign aid \u201ca curse\u201d.
\n\u201cSuch aid stops a country from evolving and developing and becoming self-reliant,\u201d he said, adding that the reliance on hand-outs stops a country from becoming independent.
\nAccording to the premier, Pakistan wants trade ties with all countries, including its neighbours. Speaking about the past, he said it was not possible to trade with India because of its hostile attitude. He added that trade ties with Iran and Afghanistan could not be developed because of sanctions and a decades-long conflict, respectively.
\n\u201cSimilarly, Pakistan could not establish trade relations with the Central Asian States because of its proximity to the US and theirs to the Soviet Union,\u201d he added.
\nHowever, this time, Pakistan will not join any camp, the PM said, adding that trade is the priority of Islamabad for the sake of its population. \u201cWhat we want now is to trade with everyone,\u201d he said, adding that the main focus of every head of state should be to raise people out of poverty.
\nAbout the gas pipeline project with Russia amid the threat of sanctions by the US, the prime minister said the pipeline project suffered because the companies involved in the project had been sanctioned by the US. \u201cFinding a Russian company that was not sanctioned by the US became a problem,\u201d he added.
\n\u201cPakistan could also get gas from Iran but it cannot since there were US sanctions on the country,\u201d Imran said, adding that the developing world doesn\u2019t want another cold war because of the consequences for the developing countries.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have to say the developing world really wishes there\u2019s not another cold war\u2026how do we go ahead,\u201d he said, adding that half of the population of Pakistan is below the poverty line. \u201cThe last thing we want is the world divided into blocks and sanctions,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
If there is a commodity super cycle or if there\u2019s a shock like Covid-19, the other half will also start going below the poverty line, he said alluding to the prospect of another cold war.<\/p>\n
He said that he is hoping the Ukraine crisis resolved peacefully. \u201cIf we read reports in the western media there is an imminent war between Russia and Ukraine\u2026on the cards. And clearly, western countries take a very oppositional, I would even say inimical view to Russia,\u201d claimed the prime minister.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor a shrewd politician like yourself, don\u2019t you think perhaps it is too precarious of a time to expand Pakistan\u2019s geopolitical horizon,\u201d the interview asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt doesn\u2019t concern us, we have bilateral relations with Russia and we really want to strengthen it,\u201d the prime minister responded to the question. He added the countries do not develop in isolation but it is the whole region that develops like the European Union.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe hope that sanctions are lifted on Iran as we are short of gas here,\u201d he said, adding that he hoped the Indian government will focus on lifting people out of poverty rather than proving to the world that Hindus are superior.<\/p>\n
In response to a question about being a neutral country amid conflict between global powers, Imran said he did not believe the military solution could be applied to resolve the conflict. \u201cI believe civilised societies resolve their differences through dialogues,\u201d he added. TLTP<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Says Pakistan will not play camp politics, calls foreign aid a \u2018curse\u2019 ISLAMABAD Prime Minister Imran Khan has said that Pakistan will not play \u201ccamp politics\u201d as it wants to have trade relations with all countries to lift its populace out of poverty. In an interview with Russia\u2019s state-owned media outlet Russia Today on Tuesday, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":245925,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[2],"tags":[4348,20,2677],"class_list":{"0":"post-245900","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-top-news","8":"tag-bloc","9":"tag-pakistan","10":"tag-politics"},"yoast_head":"\n