Kashmir issue among causes of a fractured world: Pakistan

DAVOS: Pakistan has said Kashmir and Rohingya issues are among the "causes of a fractured world" being witnessed today and they also need to be discussed at the international level.

Addressing a press conference along with his several cabinet colleagues who are here for the World Economic Forum (WEF), Pakistan Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said his country expects relationships to remain strong with China as well as the US.

He, however, acknowledged that the relationship with China has improved in recent past due to projects like Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).In reply to a question, Foreign Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif said, "Kashmir and Rohingya are also among the causes of fractured world and they also need (to be) addressed at international level".

His comments were in reference to the theme of this year's WEF annual meeting -- 'Creating a shared future in a fractured world'.

Asked whether Pakistan was feeling the warmth of friendship from the East or the West, Abbasi said, "For our country warmth has been blowing from both East and from the West and we hope it continues to blow from both sides. We have excellent relationships with China and with the US also."

He said the relationship with China has further strengthened with BRI and CPEC.
Asif said these relationships have been there since the birth of the country.

The Chinese initiatives in a region that is politically and otherwise fractured is something that shows and manifests China's commitment to strive for a shared future, the foreign minister said.He also noted that Pakistan has praised China's BRI and President Xi Jinping's vision at every platform in Davos.

"We would like our friends to view their relationship with Pakistan as an independent relationship and not through the prism of a third country. I am referring to our relationship with the US and they have (been) in the last few years viewing the relationship through the prism of Afghanistan," Asif said.

The prime minister and his cabinet colleagues also listed out various steps being taken to attract investments and how the government was trying to improve the country's global image.

Abbasi said Pakistan is an open market and ready to do business as he invited global businesses to come and invest in the country.The decision to attend the WEF annual meeting was mainly driven by its theme, shared future in a fractured world, he said.

"In Pakistan, we are carving out a shared future for everyone without leaving any one and we are doing this despite facing fractures internally and externally," he noted.Pakistan is at the cusp of making history by making a peaceful transition by completing a decade of continued democracy, he said.According to him, the country is playing a key role in connecting people of the region also by participating in the CPEC which is part of the BRI project of China.

"Here at the WEF, we have engaged with leaders of various sectors and the platform has allowed us to present our potential," Abbasi said.He also said BRI would benefit the region and the world at large for decades and millenniums to come.