Pakistan seeks peaceful ties with neighbours: Sharif

Amid a chill in India-Pakistan ties, Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif today called a high-level meeting and reviewed the current status of the country's ties with its neighbours and strategic partners, according to an official statement.

Sharif said Pakistan believes in peaceful co-existence with all countries of the region and looks forward to establish with them strong and mutually beneficial relations.

"Peaceful coexistence, mutual respect and economically integrated region must be our shared objective and we must strive for realising this objective. This could be possible only when we demonstrate a commitment to our aspirations of peace, progress and prosperity," Sharif said during the meeting.

His remarks come amid severe low in Indo-Pak ties after Pakistan-based terrorists attacked an Indian army base in Uri in September.
Sharif added that China-Pakistan Economic Corridor was a "cornerstone of our own quest for regional connectivity and shared prosperity".

The meeting evaluated various policy options in response to different challenges in regard to foreign relations. It focused on issues pertaining to regional, external and internal security situation.

It also reviewed bilateral and multi-lateral relations with neighbouring countries, future roadmap for regional stability and maintenance of mutually beneficial relations with all countries in the region and beyond.

Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, Interior Minister Nisar Ali Khan, army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa, ISI chief Lt. Gen Naveed Mukhtar, Advisor on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz, Special Assistant to PM Tariq Fatemi, National Security Advisor Lt Gen (R) Nasser Khan Janjua and other senior officials attended the meeting.

(PTI)