DAVOS: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday said that a war can only be started but it is not the hands of anyone to end it and I do not understand why the states are looking towards wars for solutions to the problems.

Delivering his keynote address at the World Economic Summit 2020 at Davos, Imran Khan said that after wasting billions of dollars and millions of lives, we have realized that we were wrong.

He said that when the Soviet’s left, we were left with the militant groups and that became a watershed in Pakistan with the rise of gun culture, armed militias and drug trade. This became an impediment to our growth as a nation.

“Pakistan once again faced difficulties after 9/11 and once again we became part of the American war,” he said and added after his party got elected, we decided Pakistan will never become part of anyone s war now,” he said.

Imran Khan went on to say that Pakistan is actively playing a responsible role in defusing tensions between the US and Iran, adding that it is also playing a critical role in bringing peace in the neighbouring Afghanistan.

He further said that his government had decided to resolve conflicts between other countries but never to become part of any war, adding that keeping in mind this policy, Islamabad played its part in defusing tensions between the US and Iran.

The prime minister said that there is no terrorism in Pakistan and 2019 has been the safest year in the country since 9/11 incident. He said we are taking steps to exploit the tourism potential of the country after restoration of peace.

Regarding economic situation of the country, he said his government inherited fiscal and trade deficits at huge scale and In order to stabilize the economy, the government took tough decisions, resulting in upward trajectory of stock market, stabilization in value of rupee and increase in foreign reserves.

PM Imran said in one year ease of doing business improved by 28 points as per World Bank estimates, adding that Pakistan has a population of 210 million people and sixty percent of our population comprises of youth. “This has a huge potential to play an important role in economic development of the country.”

The prime minister said the government has started skill development programs encouraging youth to start their own businesses and entrepreneurial projects. We hope to harness the potential of our youth for economic prowess of the country.

He said Pakistan is endowed with rich mineral resources including gold and other deposits and we are now focusing to exploit these fully. He said apart from minerals, Pakistan is blessed with fertile land whose full potential has yet to be explored. He said with the help of China under China Pakistan Economic Corridor, work is being done in enhancing the agricultural productivity of the country.

Imran Khan said: “Pakistan is placed at a very important geostrategic position. He said with the peace in Afghanistan, Pakistan can tap the benefits of energy rich Central Asia besides acting as a bridge between East and West Asia.”