ISLAMABAD: The prime minister said his recent visit to China and meetings with the host leadership added a new impetus to the time-tested friendship and further accelerated the pace of work on the projects under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
During an interaction with journalists, former diplomats and representatives of think tanks, Imran Khan said the tour was connected to the rapidly-changing global political scenario.
Beijing appreciated his government’s measures to combat the Covid-19 crisis, he said, recalling the economic indicators were also positive. China reaffirmed economic support to Pakistan through specific projects, he said.
Members of the cabinet were also present during the interaction.
Khan said he met President Xi Jinping of China for the first time since the Covid-19 outbreak in early 2020.
The meetings he held with the Chinese leadership added further impetus to the CPEC projects, Khan said, dismissing the impression of the slowed-down pace of work on the billion-dollar corridor.
On Afghanistan, the prime minister said the international community had a consensus over the catastrophe looming over the war-ravaged nation.
Europe and Afghanistan’s neighbouring nations agreed to take measures to avoid the crisis and stressed the de-freezing of its assets held in the US. Washington also understood this and realised the gravity of the situation, he added.
We have a consensus that steps should be taken and Afghanistan must not be allowed to descend into chaos yet again.
To a query, Khan said that after the passage of the 18th amendment in 2010, issues regarding decision making surfaced and cited the difference in prices of wheat in Sindh and other provinces.
Discussing the functioning of the Chinese government, the prime minister said when a decision was taken, it was implemented, but here in Pakistan, the government lacked such synergy among the centre and provinces.
In China, the whole country worked towards the aim of wealth creation.
During the Winter Olympics 2022, the native crowd warmly cheered the arrival of the Pakistan contingent, reflecting how deep-rooted these ties had been between the two countries, he observed.
Responding to another question, the prime minister said the strategic direction of his government was very clear. They wanted to maintain relations with all and would not become a part of any camp.
Since 2018, the government navigated from “the minefield” of economic challenges, he said, adding that due to the prudent policies, the country was witnessing growth rate, record tax collections, revenue generation, and remittances which indicated that the country’s economy had been moving in the right direction.
To another question, the prime minister opined that unless a party had a two-thirds majority in the parliament, it could not enact legislation to bring in reforms in the society, stressing there was a requirement for reforms.
These pieces of legislation, sometimes, stuck up in the parliament or in the Senate, he maintained.
He said that in China, they had meritocracy and a rule of law. About 400 ministerial-level people were held accountable over corruption charges which increased the popularity of President Jinping there.
Khan said the global pandemic had devastated the world. Different countries of the world including Italy, Spain and Britain opted for blanket lockdowns, but he went against such precedent for which he was criticised by his political opponents.
He said that had questioned the logic of imposing the complete lockdown as it would have created problems for the lower segments of society.
Defending his decision of smart lockdown, the prime minister said in the US, Germany, and France, people had been on the roads against lockdowns.
“We are ahead of everyone as we have not only saved our economy but also the lives,” he said, adding that in India, the growth rate had been negative.
To a query, he replied he had met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Bishkek.
After his tweet about the negative use of freedom of speech to hurt Muslims’ feelings, they held a telephonic conversation wherein Putin conveyed to Khan there was no wave of Islamophobia in Russia and the central mosque in Moscow was fully functional.
Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, who also spoke during the sitting, said that prime minister’s meeting with President Jinping was marked with great outstanding.
The clarity he witnessed over such meetings had not happened in the past which was another encouraging sign, he added.
The foreign minister further said the leadership of the two countries conveyed clear messages over the core issues. They removed certain concerns over the CPEC projects which were not based upon facts.
On Afghanistan issue, Pakistan and China shared the views, Qureshi said, adding as there had been close coordination and collaboration between the two countries.
Furthermore, they had agreed on a future roadmap. A meeting of Afghanistan’s immediate neighbours, besides a trilateral meeting of Pakistan, China and Afghanistan would be soon convened to expedite efforts to avert humanitarian crises in Afghanistan.
Minister for Finance Shaukat Tarin said that China had helped in building infrastructure and connectivity projects under CPEC and now they would support the establishment of SEZs, so that trickle down effects could be fully reaped.
Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry — while comparing the number of CPEC projects under the incumbent governments with its predecessor — said the number of working groups has increased to 11, they have completed seven projects in the last three years.
A further investment of $3.45 billion has been made in various sectors.
He further said that three new projects had been added, the power generation stood around 3340 megawatts in 2018 which had now increased to 5864 megawatts since then.
Not a single transmission line was added by the previous government, but they had installed 880 km of new transmission lines, he added.
