ISLAMABAD:
Prime Minister Imran Khan in an interview with Turkish news agency said that diplomatic efforts by Pakistan have de-escalated the tensions in Mideast following the recent US-Iran conflict.
According to Anadolu Agency, PM Imran expressed: “We feel we played our part in bringing down tensions and we have averted war”. He added that things are still tense and require some more efforts for a permanent solution.
He went on to say: “I mean, this is not talking about when the missile strikes took place in Saudi Arabia when we tried, and we tried our best to play our part. But, you know, we can only try and we should always try because there is nothing worse than a conflict amongst neighbors.
He said world has seen what happened in Afghanistan, and especially in the Gulf. If there is a conflict, oil prices will go up and all the poor countries in the world will suffer”.
Talking about relations with Turkey, PM Imran said that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is expected to visit Islamabad in the middle of February and hoped his visit would further strengthen the bilateral relations between both countries.
Prime Minister said the country out of the big economic crisis inherited from previous governments and the country is stable right now.
Imran Khan said now the next challenge for the government is to bring down inflation and start growth in the country. He said his government is improving the governance system and ease of doing business. He said Pakistan is one of the top ten countries which went up 28 points in ease of doing business.
Talking about situation of occupied Kashmir, Imran Khan said India has clamped down a curfew on eight million people of Kashmir for almost six months and deputed nine hundred thousand troops in the held valley. He said Pakistan is grateful for the way Turkey stood with the people of Kashmir and the statement given by President Erdogan.
INP/AJ