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LONDON: Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar has said that Pakistan is pursuing the policy of achieving consistent economic stability, because it does not want to continue to rely on foreign aid.
Sustainable economic linkages through greater market access for Pakistani goods are more important than receiving aid, she said during a meeting with scholars and senior analysts at the International Institute of Strategic Studies (IISS) here on Monday.Ms Khar said Pakistan and the UK had close and friendly relations and her visit would help strengthen these ties and boost the enhanced strategic dialogue process.
On Pakistan-India relations, she mentioned that the only way forward for the two countries was to demonstrate a mature approach through an uninterrupted dialogue process. It's time, she added, to focus on deliverables in order to confront the challenges.
About a resolution moved in the US Congress on Balochistan, she said it had greatly disturbed the people of Pakistan. Such an approach by parliamentarians of a country which is their strategic partner was unacceptable and such gestures could impact other aspects of relationship and create trust deficit, she added.
Ms Khar referred to the problem of over three million Afghan refugees still living in Pakistan and said the international community had not been able to ensure their safe return to Afghanistan.
In reply to a question on Pakistan's relationship with China, the minister said it had been the most reliable and consistent relationship.
Present at the meeting were Pakistan High Commissioner in UK Wajid Shamsul Hasan, Rahul Roy-Chaudhury, Senior Fellow for South Asia, and other members of the IISS. -APP
