ISLAMABAD, Feb 16: Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz stressed the need for increasing interfaith harmony in the world to promote better understanding between Islamic world and the west.

He was talking to a European Union delegation attending the 3rd Pak-Europe Dialogue here on Wednesday. Emphasizing to change perceptions in the west, the prime minister informed the delegation that Islam was a religion of peace but it was misunderstood in the West specially after 9/11.

A statement said the prime minister was of the view that this change could be brought about by greater people-to-people contact at all levels. He claimed that Pakistan was now a progressing and rapidly developing country and had changed itself in the past five years.

He claimed that Pakistan was a fast growing economy with rapidly expanding middle class and growing purchasing power. "Economic activities were picking up all over the country and the per capita income had risen to $700."

The government was now concentrating on poverty alleviation and improving quality of life of the people, he added. The delegation was also updated on the Kashmir issue which the premier said was imperative for peace in the region.

Pakistan desired peace and stability in South Asia to accelerate economic development, which could not come without solving the Kashmir dispute, the premier said. He said democratic institutions were functioning well in the country and the press enjoyed unprecedented freedom.