India dependent on Pakistan for Central Asia trade : Ashraf

India’s need for energy and trade with central Asian countries is largely dependent on Pakistan, Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf said on Wednesday.
Ashraf was speaking at the inauguration ceremony of International Defence Exhibition and Seminar (IDEAS) in Karachi. He said Pakistan had a crucial role in India’s efforts to acquire energy from Central Asia and peace and stability were essential for the socio-economic development of the region.
“It is a matter of satisfaction that both India and Pakistan are moving forward in the right direction through the composite dialogue framework,” Ashraf said. Pakistan is part of a 1,735 kilometre-long pipeline project commonly known as Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) pipeline. The prime minister also spoke about Pakistan’s foreign policies and the challenges faced by the country.
“Pakistan is confronted with complex challenges. The external and internal threats to Pakistan range from socio-economic to politico-military spectrum. We are confronted with extremism, militancy and intolerance in the society,” he said.
“Extremism, militancy, ethno-social schisms and intolerance in the society has increased. In the midst of all these challenges, there lie opportunities,” the prime minister said. The IDEAS is a defence-related event held in Pakistan every two years. The first such exhibition was organised in 2000 by former president Pervez Musharraf. Since then, more than 30,000 delegates and 250 exhibitors from across the globe have become part of the event.
The prime minister said Pakistan had a large defence manufacturing, training and support infrastructure in place that was not only capable of meeting needs of the country’s armed forces, but also had the capacity to fulfil demands from other countries with exceptionally high quality products at mutually acceptable terms.
Ashraf said the world’s economic centre of gravity was gradually shifting to Asia, more specifically to the Asia Pacific region.
“Peace and stability are the major requirements for any nation that seeks economic prosperity and social justice,” added the PM. He condemned terrorism in all its forms and manifestations.
“It is our belief that, world free of terrorists, is in the common interest of the international community. That is why we have assumed the lead role in global war on terror. We also believe that real victory against terrorists is only possible if, besides the ongoing military action, root causes of terrorism like foreign occupation, oppression, denial of fundamental rights, economic deprivation and injustice are also addressed.”
Talking about IDEAS-2012, he said the five-day event was aimed at addressing major security issues and potential areas of cooperation between nations interested in securing and maintaining world peace.
Thus, he said, IDEAS-2012 could be considered an ideal platform to discuss the importance of support services and equipment required by national and multinational forces for any intended action.