Sharif: Talks with India only way out

Pakistan and India should sit down for serious talks on lingering issues for the benefit of their respective countrymen, said Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.
Sharif, who is on a private visit to Saudi Arabia, was talking to members of the Pakistan Journalists Forum (PJF) who called on him at his residence here Saturday to congratulate him on assuming the office for the third time.
“We (Pakistan and India) have been piling up weapons for the past 60 years,” Sharif said. “Instead of spending so much on arms, we should focus on investing in social infrastructure for the benefit of our people.”
The two nuclear rivals have fought three wars since independence from the British.
Citing the example of the US and Russia, he said that India and Pakistan should follow them by adopting similar policies to restrict their defense budgets.
Terming the recently announced Gwadar-Kashghar economic corridor a game changer, he said that special industrial zones would be set up in Gwadar to facilitate foreign investment.
Sharif said the development of this port and the proposed economic corridor would change the dynamics of the region and expressed hope that the project would help boost economic activities in the region.
He said that Gwadar would emerge as the future economic hub of the region and would not only benefit Pakistan but also India, Afghanistan and the Central Asian states.
Despite inheriting pressing problems, Sharif sounded optimistic about solving the issues facing the energy-starved nation.
The prime minister, however, said there was no shortcut to success and prosperity. “We need to prioritize our problems. Our foremost priority is to boost economic activities in the country and to check the menace of terrorism.”
Commenting on the ongoing energy crisis in Pakistan, Sharif said there were no quick fixes to this problem.
“We have carefully studied every possible option and are confident that in the next three or three-and-a-half years we will be in position to meet not only our actual energy demands but will also produce surplus electricity.”
Since assuming Pakistan’s top post, he said his government had taken measures to check line losses and electricity theft and those steps had yielded results.
Apart from that, he added, his government is making progress on the Thar Coal Power Project. Sharif deplored the fact that his predecessors did not attach much importance to this sector. “Had they focused on this sector, the situation of the country would have been different today.”
Construction of new dams, he said, would also help overcome electricity and water shortages in the long run.
Regarding terrorism, he said that without peace, prosperity canw not be achieved. Without the rule of law, he said, Pakistan can’t emerge as a civilized nation.
“Our government is willing to take all measures to check terrorism and root out seeds of sectarianism,” he said.
Without divulging details about his recent talks with US Secretary of State John Kerry, he said that both sides expressed their concerns in a frank manner. “Honest handling will help resolve issues,” Sharif added.
During his visit to Pakistan last week, Kerry hinted that the disputed drone strikes could end soon.
Responding to a query regarding his reconciliatory approach toward his political rivals with a particular reference to the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), Sharif said that he was the prime minister of Pakistan and it was his responsibility to unite the nation not to drive a wedge between the people.
The prime minister expressed his resolve to make efforts for the restoration of peace in Afghanistan and to help facilitate the Doha peace process.
Commenting on the ongoing trial of former President Pervez Musharraf, Sharif said he did not believe in politics of revenge.
“An inquiry is under way,” he said.