No country allowed to interfere in Pakistan domestic affairs: Dar
Pakistan
Motion to be moved against the American House of Representatives resolution
ISLAMABAD (Dunya News/Web Desk) – Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar on Thursday made it categorically clear that no country was allowed to interfere in Pakistan’s internal matters and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had reacted swiftly to a resolution passed by the US House of Representatives against alleged irregularities in February 8 elections.
Explaining the basic features of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s government in the National Assembly, Dar said Pakistan had already rejected the resolution and was ready to table one in the House to counter the move and share the country’s stance.
At the same time, he expressed the desire to hold constructive talks with the United States on different issues for maintaining a close relationship.
CPEC AND IRAN-PAKISTAN GAS PIPELINE
He said the previous government [the one led by PTI founding chairman Imran Khan] had stopped work on China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), which was reinitiated by Shehbaz.
CPEC was placed on backburner because of “our own mistakes", Dar noted – a reference to the fact that no major project was launched under the initiative after the PTI replaced the PML-N government in 2018.
The latest remarks came as the government has been repeatedly highlighting the efforts being made to target Chinese nationals and interests through terrorism acts to sabotage CPEC and Chinese investment.
In another jibe at the PTI, the foreign minister also mentioned that Pakistan had itself damaged relations with other countries.
However, Dar rejected the impression that the country was isolated on the diplomatic front and mentioned Pakistan being elected as the UN Security Council non-permanent member after securing 182 votes as an example to argue his case.
Dar, who is also serving as deputy prime minister, also discussed the Iran-Pakistan (IP) Gas Pipeline issue, saying that Islamabad had made multiple steps to start construction for realising the project, but noted the US sanctions imposed on Iran as the basic hurdle.
INDEPENDENT FOREIGN POLICY
He said Pakistan had been raising the Gaza issue at international forums while naming Israel as the culprit while also arguing the case for Kashmir and opposing Islamophobia prevailing in the world.
