By The South Asia Times

ISLAMABAD - Pakistan Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar on Wednesday condemned the Israeli barbarism and said how many dead bodies of children need by Israel to appease its anger.

Addressing annual “Margalla Dialogue” in Islamabad, Kakar while condemning the Israeli atrocities and asked how many casualties of children shall be needed to appease the “anger of Israel.”

Highlighted the internal and external threats to national security, identifying the lax implementation of rule of law, weak governance, proxy warfare, weak economy, and low preference accorded to human security as the main causes of internal strife.

He highlighted the importance of national resolve, socio-economic justice, political stability, and good governance in strengthening the social cohesion and economic sinews of a nation.

The caretaker prime minister said that we are living in an era of multilateralism. He mentioned the rise of India as an economic power in the region, and observed that Pakistan has no problems with as far as peace is institutionalized and irritants such as Kashmir dispute are addressed.

Kakar talked about internal challenges facing Pakistan, and was optimist that a nation of 250 million will carve out its way on the merits of a bulging youth population of 65 percent. He said that the youth needs to be energized, and invested upon in the right sphere by inducing skilled human development. 

The PM talked about new regional security alliances such as QUAD, the Indo-Pacific Strategy, the rise of China and Pakistan’s strategic alliance with Beijing.
He remarked that India is flirting with the Western hemisphere in a bizarre attempt to contain China.

He said that the present day competition is more economic in essence than strategic.

The caretaker Prime Minister remarked that Pakistan does not incentivize conflict, as India does, and called for erecting an order that promotes connectivity in the region. He called upon India to be part of it, and shunned the impression that Pakistan has a problem with Indo-China or its growing relations with the United States.

Reiterating that Kashmir is an impediment in India-Pakistan relations, he observed that the right of Kashmiris people to decide their future cannot be denied for long, though. “Neither Pakistan nor India should impose a solution on Kashmiris,” he added.

He talked about the western borders of Pakistan with Afghanistan and said that the day Kabul has a legitimate government, issues will start settling down.
Talking about trade and commerce, he said that India cannot be excluded from what is happening in the region in the name of connectivity. However, he said that there should be a mutual balance, and Pakistan will decide on trade keeping in view its economic interests.

He also talked about politics of Hindutva, and said that Pakistan has no issues with Hindu religion, and prided that it has a great Hindu community that is working for the glory of the country.

Kakar accepted that non-state actors are posing security threat in Pakistan, and defended the policy to expel illegal Afghan nationals. He shunned the narrative that ethnic and lingual affiliations should supersede the phenomenon of illegality, and questioned which country housed more than 1.5 million illegal people?

Kakar also refuted the impression that Pakistan should choose between China and the United States, and advocated a foreign policy that takes into account tangibles on both sides and is balanced in approach.