Islamabad
\nCommenting on Prime Minister Imran Khan\u2019s visit to Russia, Speaker of the National Assembly Asad Qaiser stated that Pakistan aspires to have cordial relations with all the countries of the world based on its national interest.
\nHe was speaking at the inaugural session of the two-day international conference titled \u201cSouth Asia: Emerging Opportunities and Challenges\u201d organized by the Institute of Regional Studies (IRS) in collaboration with Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES) here on Wednesday.
\nThe Speaker of the National Assembly lauded Pakistan\u2019s exemplary relations with China, but expressed his concern over the deteriorating relations with India owing to Indian actions in the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK). Mr Qaiser highlighted the important role played by think-tanks in informing policy decisions.
\nIn a written message sent to conference organizers, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi urged the regional countries and the international community to synergize their efforts to stabilize
\nAfghanistan as well as work towards unlocking the true potential of the over 1.7 billion, mostly young, population of South Asia.
\nThe Federal Minister for Human Rights Dr Shireen Mazari highlighted the achievements of her ministry in ensuring basic human rights for the citizens of Pakistan. She added that Pakistan took a human rights-based approach towards the Covid-19 pandemic by looking after the interests of all segments of the society. She was of the view that in much priority human rights areas,
\nPakistan had done better than other regional countries. She regretted the increasing polarization, extremism, and Islamophobia in India.
\nPresident IRS Ambassador Nadeem Riyaz urged the participants of the conference to focus on tapping into the immense potential of the region by finding ways to surmount regional conflicts, overcome domestic pressures of poverty, inequality, and extremist ideologies, respond to contemporary global challenges, and find ways to collectively engage in bringing prosperity to everyone.
\nSyed Hassan Akbar, Senior Policy Specialist at the National Security Division expressed his concern over the increasing global competition and its impact on the region. He referred to conflicts in South Asia as a legacy of the colonial system which, according to him, were exacerbated by global power competition.
\nHe added that Pakistan\u2019s priority was to address the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan and assist the country in achieving political stability. Akbar said that while Pakistan was ready to engage with India, it was up to India to create an enabling environment for talks.
\nProfessor Swaran Singh of the Jawaharlal Nehru University, India, stated that New Delhi aspired to reach out to the people of Afghanistan. This, he maintained, was the reason India was sending a large consignment of wheat to Afghanistan through Pakistan.
\nHe added that such cooperation between India, Afghanistan, and Pakistan could create opportunities for breaking the ice between India and Pakistan as well.
\nPakistan\u2019s former ambassador to the US Dr Maleeha Lodhi expressed her regret that the thaw in India-Pakistan relations with the recommitment to observing the ceasefire along the Line of Control could not lead to a broader dialogue between the two countries and ultimately normalization of relations.
\nShe listed several steps taken by the Indian government in the recent past which, according to her, were inimical to peace in the region.
\nFormer adviser to the Prime Minister on institutional reforms and austerity Dr Ishrat Hussain shared that South Asia was still home to 400 million people living below $1.9 per day which, according to him, was the largest concentration of poor in the world.
\nHe expressed his regret over South Asia being the least economically integrated region of the world. He shared that intra-region trade in South Asia was only 5 per cent compared to 40-45 per cent in Southeast Asia. Dr Hussain urged New Delhi to assume the role of a benevolent leader shouldering disproportionate responsibility to take the region to prosperity.
\nThe World Bank\u2019s Country Director in Pakistan Najy Benhassine shared that in the past 20 years the share of the population in Pakistan below the poverty line has reduced from 64 per cent to 21 per cent.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Islamabad Commenting on Prime Minister Imran Khan\u2019s visit to Russia, Speaker of the National Assembly Asad Qaiser stated that Pakistan aspires to have cordial relations with all the countries of the world based on its national interest. He was speaking at the inaugural session of the two-day international conference titled \u201cSouth Asia: Emerging Opportunities and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-246183","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-national"},"yoast_head":"\n