Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif on Wednesday said that anything which hurts Pakistan’s sovereignty will not be accepted.
Talking to mediapersons, he said that his current visit to the United Kingdom was bearing fruit due to the growing stronger bilateral ties. He said Pak-UK ties were on the high wave, growing stronger with ach passing day. The UK accorded high importance to its ties with Pakistan, he added. Recalling words of UK Premier David Cameron during his last visit to Pakistan, he said that every Pakistani should remember thses words in which he had declared enemies of Pakistan as common enemies of both countries.
“Friends of Pakistan are friends of Britain and enemies of Pakistan are enemies of Britain,” such words by the UK Premier proved his close affinity with the people of Pakistan, he added. About meetings with UK counterpart, UK Foreign and Home Ministers, he said that they had discussed an array of issues including the Kashmir issue. The UK was major contributor to education sector in Pakistan and it could also help in counter-terror force with its resources, he added. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said “In my US visit, I had also raised the issue that we wanted trade not aid.”About trilateral meeting in the UK, he said it was the first occasion for him after assuming the office that he had meeting with Afghan President and UK Premier.
“In the meeting, all issues were discussed – how peace can be restored in Afghanistan, how elections could be held – as the peace in Afghanistan is linked to whole regional stability and also vital for Pakistan,” he added. Offering his grief over Quetta blast, he said that it was an unfortunate incident. “The government wants to stop it to stop this bloodshed and loss of lives. It is the desire of public and the government is also determined to fulfill it,” he added. About relations with India, the Prime Minister said he had discussed the issue of Line of Control during his US and UK visits. He said India should have no objection to third party mediation on Kashmir issue in line with the aspirations of Kashmiri people.
“I have a realistic approach to the issue and if there is third party mediation, there should be no hesitation on part of India,” he added. The Prime Minister said Indian stance on the issue offered no solution as it proved futile to resolve the issue, flaring three wars between the both neighbouring countries in the last 65 years. He said that people-to-people contacts were a good thing, if these were improved.
He said they wanted good relations with India, enhanced friendship, trade and business cooperation and wanted to live like good neighbours with India. In the past, they had wasted precious resources in fighting, he added. The Prime Minister said their resources should be dedicated towards education, besides improving economy and infrastructure which could have helped them to excel greatly. –App
