ISLAMABAD: Terming an independent foreign policy crucial for any nation, Prime Minister Imran Khan on Friday said the reason why Pakistan could not reach its peak potential was the “dependency syndrome”, leading Islamabad to rely on influential countries.
“A county without an independent foreign policy remains unable to secure the interests of its people,” the prime minister said in his address at the Islamabad Security Dialogue.
The two-day event gathered intelligentsia from across the country in addition to representatives from the United States, United Kingdom, China, Russia, India and European Union.
Khan said taking independent decisions while prioritising the national interests was crucial rather than succumbing to foreign diktat in exchange for money.
He said a nation could not progress until it kept thinking that it could not survive without foreign aid and criticised the decisions of previous governments for joining foreign wars, the Soviet War in Afghanistan and the post-9/11 War on Terror.
“These decisions, that incurred major damage to the society, were made for the sake of [receiving] dollars,” he said.
He pointed out that such detrimental policies resulted in sectarian militancy that disrupted the environment of investment, and gave birth to drug rackets and black money in the country.
He regretted that no independent evaluation was made afterwards to assess the damage suffered by the society, and “the elite filled up their bank accounts at the cost of the nation”.
Khan said his government since coming to power in 2018 pursued an independent foreign policy that helped the country gain respect in the global arena.
Referring to the US, he said a “powerful country” had expressed displeasure over his recent visit to Russia. “On the other hand, it is supporting its ally India which is importing oil from Russia [despite sanctions]”.
“How come a country can interfere in the affairs of an independent state,” he said. “But not to blame them, as it is our fault because we gave them this impression”.
He said for its own interest, Pakistan’s elite threw the nation to the altar and put its self-respect at stake.
The prime minister said national security was a multidimensional phenomenon and could be ensured when the state and nation shared a single vision and ideology.
He said his government firmly believed there was a symbiotic relationship between economic, human, and traditional security which was imperative for Pakistan’s long-term development.
He said domestic stability and regional peace based on mutual co-existence, regional connectivity, and shared prosperity were essential prerequisites to optimising national security.
