Pakistan seeks to bridge gaps between US, China — PM Imran Khan

Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan addresses the launch of Naya Pakistan Health Card in Peshawar on Dec 8, 2021. (PID)

• Says Islamabad does not want to join any political blocs being formed on the world stage 
• FM Qureshi says they need to put human security at center of national security strategies 

ISLAMABAD: Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday said his country sought to bridge gaps between China and the United States (US), rather than becoming a part of any bloc.
The ongoing tiff between the US and China heated up on Wednesday after the US House of Representatives passed a legislation to ban imports from China’s Xinjiang region over concerns about forced labor.
The Democratic-led House also passed two other measures relating to China. It voted 428-0 for a resolution saying the International Olympic Committee violated its own human rights commitments by cooperating with China’s government. The other condemned the “ongoing genocide and crimes against humanity” committed against Uyghurs and members of other religious and ethnic minority groups by China.
On Thursday, the Chinese foreign ministry said the US and others will pay a price for their “mistaken acts” after deciding not to send government delegations to February’s Winter Olympics in Beijing.
But PM Khan said Pakistan didn’t want to join any bloc and could instead play its role in defusing tensions between the two world powers.
“As the situation is heading toward another cold war and blocs are being formed, Pakistan must try its best to prevent the formation of these blocs, because we should not be a part of any bloc,” he said, addressing attendees at an event titled “A Peaceful and Prosperous South Asia” at the Institute of Strategic Studies in Islamabad.
“We want to bring people together. Pakistan played a major role in defusing Saudi Arabia-Iran standoff. We did our best and they appreciated [us] too.”
Speaking of foreign propaganda after the 9/11 attacks, the prime minister said they greatly needed think tanks in the country.
“After 9/11, think tank based abroad were pronouncing on Pakistan. Neither they have an understanding, nor they are aware of the history and culture of people. Sitting there, they defined this is extremist, this is fundamentalist, this is that and Islamic bomb,” he said.
“All this propaganda came against us from abroad.”
Opposing war as a solution to conflicts, PM Khan said whenever efforts were made to resolve an issue through war, it always resulted in miscalculations.
He said the circumstances in Afghanistan could have been worse and that they were fearing a civil war there after the US withdrawal.
“We are trying to tell the world whether you dislike the Taliban, the issue is about 40 million people of Afghanistan,” he said.
Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said they needed to put human security at the center of national security strategies to move the region toward development and prosperity.
“Pakistan has shifted its focus to geo-economics,” he said. “Connectivity is the new buzz word and it can provide us enormous opportunities for national and regional development.”
The foreign minister said regional cooperation is a must for South Asia to prosper.