Pakistan’s Federal Minister for Information, Broadcasting, National Heritage and Culture Attaullah Tarar said on Tuesday that durable peace in the world was not possible without a permanent resolution of the Palestine and Kashmir issues.
Speaking to the media outside the United Nations General Assembly, Tarar said Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had raised both issues at all international fora.
On Palestine, he said the prime minister had stated that war crimes were being committed in the area, and the genocide of unarmed Palestinians was being carried out. He called for the world to take notice and bring the perpetrator, Israel, to justice.
Tarar said the prime minister had also made clear that Pakistan wanted the restoration of pre-1967 borders in which Jerusalem should be the capital of Palestine. “We want an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and accountability of the aggressor Israel for war crimes and genocide being committed in Palestine,” he remarked.
Tarar said Pakistan had dispatched humanitarian aid through ships and C-130 aircraft. He added that Pakistan had offered to give admission to Palestinian medical students in Pakistani institutions, so that they could complete their education without any hindrance.
He said the Kashmir issue would figure prominently in the prime minister’s engagements at the United Nations.
Tarar also addressed other pressing issues facing Pakistan. He said climate change was a major issue for Pakistan, which contributed only 2% of global gas emissions but had to bear the brunt of its adverse effects. He noted that the UN secretary general had himself visited Pakistan and witnessed the impact of climate change in the country due to heavy floods.
He further said that Pakistan had also suffered greatly in the war against terrorism, launched by western powers, and was still suffering.
The minister said that after 2018, Pakistan had been isolated on foreign policy affairs, as its friends both in the East and West were unhappy with the previous government’s policies. He said that now relations with all friendly countries were being restored and cooperation was showing a surge.
Tarar said that talks with the International Monetary Fund had been concluded and final endorsement was due shortly. He said there was also good news about Pakistan’s economy, and the world should come and invest in Pakistan to take advantage of its huge potential. He highlighted that Bloomberg had termed the Pakistan stock market as an emerging stock market, and Moody’s and Fitch had upgraded its rating. He said inflation had fallen to 9.6% while exports had increased by 14%, information technology exports had reached the 3.1 billion mark, and remittances had also shown an upward trend.
He said the entire world could share in the economic revival of Pakistan.
To a question, he said that during the prime minister’s visit, meetings would be held with doctors, bankers, and representatives from other walks of life.
Elaborating on Pakistan’s isolation in the past, he said that during the PTI rule, the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor had been shut down, the US was accused of toppling its government, and even friendly countries in the Middle East were not happy with the foreign policy of the then regime.
