ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister (PM) Shahid Khaqan Abbasi on Thursday said that the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) was a great opportunity for Pakistan which needs to be fully exploited to achieve its full potential and maximum gains for the country.
Talking to a group of post-graduate students from Quaid-i-Azam University (QAU) School of Politics and International Relations, who visited the PM office to discuss Pakistan’s foreign relations, he said that ties with China were based on historical relations which were far beyond the economic relations. The prime minister in general, economic ties lead to political diplomacy.
In response to a question, the PM said that Kashmir was a long-standing issue which needed to be resolved in line with the UN resolutions.
To a question regarding FATA, he said that its mainstreaming was in process and added that the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government was working diligently to address the matter. The prime minister also said that the government was already working on the expansion of the jurisdiction of the higher courts to FATA.
The government, he said, was also focusing on the development of FATA, and added that a very large 10-year budget was being formulated for FATA residents. While addressing the issue of energy shortage, the PM said that the government had shifted dependence from furnace oil to gas for power generation as it was a much cheaper option.
Earlier, Special Assistant to PM Ali J Siddiqui and MNA Shiza Fatima briefed the students regarding the executive branch of the government and working of the PM office.
