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Former President Asif Ali Zardari has said that the way forward for Pakistan to make progress and join the comity of developed nations lay in continuity of economic policies. “Continuity, continuity and continuity is what is needed” he said in a media interview today in reply to a question about the visit of Chinese President and economic projects worth tens of billions of dollars signed.
We appreciate that the present government has pushed forward the agreements on economic projects with China that were entered into during the previous PPP government and hope that this trend will continue in the future as well.
We also appreciate that the present government completed the Multan airport project started by the previous government, he said. If this realism and maturity had also been shown with respect to energy projects undertaken by the ppp government in nineties had been continued and not reversed there would have been no load shedding in the country today.
The former President said that the foundations of durable and strategic relationship between China and Pakistan were laid by visionary leaders of the time namely Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto of Pakistan and Chairman Mao Tse Tung and Premier Chou en Lai of China which has grown and strengthened over the years and was bearing fruit.
He said that as President he undertook as many as nine visits to China visiting all their provinces and regions with a view to learning from the Chinese model of development. The currency swap agreement, the establishment of the China Bank in Pakistan and the handing over of the Gawadur port to China laid the ground work for durable economic structures to be raised, he said.
A larger economic foot print of China in Pakistan holds great promise not only for the shared prosperity of both countries but also to the prosperity and development of the entire region, he said.
When asked about reservations expressed by the PPP about the route of Economic Corridor and location of economic projects within the corridor the PPP Co chairman said that there were genuine and serious concerns that needed to be addressed. He asked the government to take the parliament and the political parties into confidence to make the Economic Corridor a real game changer in the region.
We will force the government to share the economic benefits of the projects with all provinces and regions and not just one region.
Decisions about the nature and location of various economic projects in the Corridor must be made transparently and with broad based consensus, he said. He said that the party will consult all other political parties on this issue as it is of concern to the entire nation.
About the situation in Yemen the former President said that the PPP welcomed the Saudi decision to stop aerial bombardment and expressed the hope that a peaceful negotiated settlement of the problem will be found.
Referring to the 2 million Pakistani workers in Saudi Arabia and millions in the other Gulf countries he said that Pakistan was inextricably linked with Saudi Arabia and cannot ignore the security and stability concerns of the kingdom. He said that he visited the Saudi embassy in Islamabad today (Wednesday) to express solidarity with the people and government of the Saudi Arabia in its hour of difficulty.
We should sit with the OIC to find a middle path leading to a peaceful resolution of the conflict so that war is avoided and Saudi security is not threatened in any way, he said.
About the role of China he said that the region was in ferment. Because of its size, might and credibility with countries in the region as well as its obvious security and economic interests China had a great role to play in the region. As a factor of stability in the region and the world we welcomed growing China’s role in the region.
Meanwhile Spokesperson Senator Farhatullah Babar quoting the former President said that Mr. Zardari also welcomed Chinese assistance in the field of defence and defence production and in providing assorted defence equipment to bolster the country’s defence. The former President also expressed appreciation for the US military assistance to Pakistan and in this connection recalled the deal signed during the pppgovernment for US helicopters that strenghthened the capacity to fight militants holed up in difficult terrains, he said.
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