Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Vice Chairman Shah Mehmood Qureshi, in his first press conference as the foreign minister, on Monday said that Pakistan’s foreign policy would be reviewed afresh.

“Our foreign policy will begin and end at Pakistan,” he asserted and added that they were determined to resolve the challenges facing the country.

“We will make sure that Pakistan is respected worldwide and for that we will have to set our priorities and move forward,” Qureshi added.

“Some forces have been trying to isolate Pakistan. And why wouldn’t they do it? Your country didn’t have a foreign minister, who is meant to be your chief diplomat. This gives your opponents open playing fields.”

However, Qureshi vowed to not allow Pakistan to be isolated. The foreign minister said that he would consult Foreign Office officials and former foreign ministers, including Hina Rabbani Khar and Khawaja Asif, for guidance.

The minister began his press conference with Afghanistan. He spoke of his intention to contact his Afghan counterpart and pay a visit to Kabul. “I want to bring a solid message to the people of Afghanistan. The two countries share a future and geography, and we have to work together and begin our long journey.”

“I want to tell the people of Afghanistan that we need to become each other’s support base. We have the capability to become a good support mechanism for each other. I have heard that we have a bilateral agreement in place and we want to move forward with those,” he announced. Referring to relations with India, the foreign minister said: “India and Pakistan have to move forward keeping realities before them. He said that there was a need for continued and uninterrupted dialogue with India.

Qureshi also directly addressed his Indian counterpart, Sushma Swaraj, and said, “I want to tell the Indian foreign minister that we are not just neighbours; we are atomic powers. We have a lot of common resources. We have long-standing issues and both of us know these problems. But we have no other option but to engage in dialogue. We cannot afford adventurism.”

He continued: “These issues are complicated and we may face hurdles in resolving them, but we must engage. We will have to admit that we are facing problems. We must admit that Kashmir is a reality. We may have a different approach and line of thinking, but I want to see a change in how we behave.”

Qureshi said that Indian Prime Minister Narendar Modi had also called for dialogue in a letter to Prime Minister Imran Khan.

The foreign minister also spoke about the bilateral relations with the United States. “I know about their concerns and their priorities. I will speak to them in a straight forward manner, I will tell them that we too have our priorities, our nation has some aspirations. I will tell them that bilateral relations will operate on the basis of equality,” he said. “An important event is coming up; the UN assembly where I will be representing Pakistan and where we have to present Pakistan’s case to the world.”

“The west has some pre-concerned ideas of where the foreign policy of Pakistan is made. Let me make it very clear it will be made at the FO,” he clarified. When questioned about the party’s stance on the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), the foreign minister said that his party “supports CPEC”.

India denies Modi called for dialogue in letter to Imran —A12

Published in Daily Times, August 21^st 2018.