LAHORE: Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar has said that Pakistan will be made an economic power, adding that the country will give a strong response to anyone who looks at it with hostility.
Speaking to the media after attending the 983rd annual ghusal ceremony at Data Darbar in Lahore, Ishaq Dar said Pakistan had played a historic diplomatic role in bringing the United States and Iran to the negotiating table. Pakistani media reports quoted him as saying that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir led the effort.
Dar said Pakistan acted as a facilitator in the matter between the United States and Iran. He added that both countries were brought to the table after 47 years. According to him, an agreement had been signed and placed on the record of the National Assembly.
The foreign minister said Pakistan is a peaceful country and follows the United Nations Charter. He said Pakistan respects the sovereignty of all countries, whether small or large.
He added that Pakistan would defend itself against any hostile move. Dar said that if anyone looks at Pakistan with an evil eye, the country will respond firmly.
Talking about regional diplomacy, Dar said Pakistan had immediately condemned the attack on Iran on February 28. He claimed that no other country condemned the US and Israeli attack at that time.
Dar said Pakistan was once described as diplomatically isolated, but the world now recognizes the country as a peace-loving state. Reuters has also reported that Pakistan’s mediation role in the Iran conflict has raised Islamabad’s diplomatic profile and could create economic opportunities, although analysts warned that structural economic challenges remain.
On the economy, Ishaq Dar said the government had provided relief to salaried people and traders in the budget. He said the government inherited a difficult economic situation but had succeeded in putting the country back on the path of stability.
Dar said Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif was working day and night to strengthen Pakistan’s economy. He added that the government’s goal is to turn Pakistan into a strong economic power.