ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan has said that the Chinese loans only accounted for five or six per cent of Pakistan’s total loan portfolio.
Responding to a question in an interview with CNBC in Davos, the PM rejected the impression that the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) had made Pakistan indebted to China.
He said China helped Pakistan in the most difficult times by making investments and we were grateful to them. He said the CPEC also envisaged cooperation in different sectors including technology transfer in the agriculture sector.
About Pakistan’s economy, the prime minister said the country was now on the right track and our focus was on export-led growth by promoting industrialization.
Also Read: No imminent threat of war between Pakistan, India: PM Imran Khan
Khan has once again called upon US President Donald Trump and the United Nations to intervene for resolution of outstanding Kashmir dispute. “Kashmir is a far more serious problem than the people and the world realize,” he said.
He said India had been taken over by an extremist ideology which is called Hindutva or the RSS. Modi was a life member of that extremist outfit, he said.
Referring to the situation in occupied Kashmir, PM Imran said eight million people had been put under the siege there since August 5 last year. The Indian forces had picked up thousands of Kashmiri teenagers and arrested all their political leaders, he maintained.
He said it was a serious situation and warned that it could potentially spill over in to a conflict between the two nuclear armed countries.
When asked about the US-Iran tension, the prime minister said war was not a solution to any problem. He warned that a conflict with Iran would be disastrous for the developing countries as it would shoot up the oil prices. He said the sensible way forward was dialogue.
Prime Minister Imran made it clear that Pakistan would only be partner in peace. He reminded that Pakistan suffered heavily both in terms of human and material losses in the war on terrorism.
Imran Khan said Pakistan was now a safe country and ready for business. Hailing the sacrifices rendered by the security forces in the war on terrorism, he said Pakistan had disarmed the militias and rehabilitated them.