Foreign policies made against public interest in the past: PM Imran

–Calls for immediate measures to avert humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan said on Tuesday that the priority of the former rulers was not the people but dollars and foreign policies were made against the public interest in the past.

Addressing a ceremony at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Islamabad on Tuesday, the Prime Minister said that the country suffered due to wrong decisions of the previous rulers.

Imran Khan said that after the OIC conference, the position of the whole world on Afghanistan is with us, adding that emerging human tragedy in Afghanistan requires immediate action and the world supports our position on Afghanistan. He called for immediate measures to avert humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan.

“When you instill self-belief in yourself as a nation, you can achieve marvels. When the earthquake hit the country (during 2005), the whole nation was mobilized and during floods (of 2010), the nation contributed, which reflected that the nation had the capability to always stood the tests of time,” he added.

The prime minister also referred to his cricket career and the performance of the national cricket team which achieved success when motivated with self-belief.

“The country has a huge talented population of 220 million people along with 9 million overseas Pakistanis who are capable of achieving anything as they have excelled in every field,” he expressed his optimism.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Makhdoom Shah Mahmood Qureshi and other high officials of the ministry were present on the occasion.

The prime minister also stressed a culture of rule of law and meritocracy.

“No country aspires progress sans rule of law,” he said, adding certain Western countries had achieved progress and prosperity despite scant resources, as they had introduced a culture of rule of law.

But on the other hand, often the resources-rich countries were mired in poverty due to the absence of rule of law. Different mafias controlled those resources, he observed.

He said people also helped build the cancer hospital and still making donations to meet its losses as about Rs10 billion were being spent on the treatment of poor people.

He also praised the law enforcement agencies that made the event a success, making the nation proud, with a strong sense of self-belief.

The prime minister also regretted that in the past, the elite had captured spaces as they were pampered with all facilities. He underscored that they would have to focus to lift the poor segments of society and for this purpose, the whole nation would have to continue this struggle.

Citing the current account deficit, the prime minister said it had increased pressure on rupee. The government had almost overcome the challenge, but the increasing commodity prices at the global level proved as a choking point.

Expressing his resolve, he said, however, it was a temporary phase and the country would overcome it.

“I strongly believe that Pakistan has a great future and the nation will become strong,” he said, recollecting that during 60s, the nation was following that path.

The prime minister advised the officers of the foreign office that they must focus on geo-economics. The ambassadors should further make efforts to woo foreign investment. TF Report