ISLAMABAD: Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan on Tuesday said he was not against the West or India, but their policies in the “war on terror” and toward Muslims.
The statement came a week after PM Khan criticized Islamabad-based Western envoys, who in a letter urged Pakistan to condemn Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, asking them if they had writer a similar letter to India.
Representatives of 22 countries, including the European Commission, in Islamabad wrote the letter. Islamabad has repeatedly called for an end to violence and emphasized the use of diplomacy to resolve the crisis, but stopped short of condemning Russia.
In recent weeks, the Pakistani premier has also criticized the United States (US) and allies for blaming Islamabad for their defeat in Afghanistan, despite Pakistan suffering 80,000 casualties after joining the US-led war.
“Let me clarify this to all overseas Pakistanis, I have never been anti-US, anti-UK and for that matter, anti-India. Only an illiterate can be against some country because all types of people live in a country,” PM Khan said at a party convention in Islamabad.
“I was against America’s war on terror since day one and will always be against that.”
He said if the government in India gave equal rights to Muslims and to Kashmiris, Islamabad was willing to talk on bilateral issues.
“The step they [India] have taken on August 05, 2019, if they take that back we will again normalize our ties with them and resolve our issues through dialogue,” the prime minister said.
In August 2019, New Delhi stripped India-controlled Kashmir of its autonomy and divided it into two federally-administered territories, prompting Islamabad to downgrade its diplomatic and trade ties with India.
The Himalayan valley is claimed in full by both India and Pakistan. The two countries have gone to war thrice over it, and both rule parts of it.
Pakistani PM says not against West or India, but their policies
https://arab.news/ps2ak
Pakistani PM says not against West or India, but their policies
- PM Imran Khan says he was against US policy in ‘war on terror,’ India’s Hindutva-driven politics
- Talks can be held with New Delhi if it gives equal rights to Muslims and Kashmiris, he adds
Pakistan opens real-time digital payment system to exchange companies as reserves edge up
- Raast enables low-cost transfers between banks, microfinance firms and electronic money wallets
- Pakistan’s overall foreign reserves stand at $21.25 billion as central bank holdings rise $16 million
KARACHI: Pakistan’s central bank on Thursday allowed exchange companies to route home remittances through its instant payment system, Raast, saying the move aims to promote digital transactions and improve the efficiency of inflows, as the country’s foreign exchange reserves rose modestly in the latest week.
The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) said in a statement that the country's total liquid foreign reserves stood at $21.25 billion as of Jan. 9, while the central bank’s own reserves rose $16 million to $16.07 billion.
The statement said the decision to extend Raast to exchange companies forms part of the central bank’s broader push to strengthen digital payments infrastructure and support a shift toward a cashless economy.
“Building an innovative and inclusive digital financial services ecosystem is one of the key objectives of State Bank of Pakistan under its Strategic Plan 2023-2028,” the SBP said.
“In furtherance of this vision, SBP has now allowed Exchange Companies (ECs) to utilize ‘Raast,’ a state-of-the-art payment system launched by SBP in 2021, to facilitate remitters and beneficiaries of home remittances,” it added.
Raast, a real-time digital payment system, allows instant and low-cost transfers between banks, microfinance institutions and electronic money wallets.
“Through this enablement, the beneficiaries receiving remittances through ECs can receive their funds in their accounts and wallets ... in a safe and efficient manner,” the statement said.
Pakistan relies heavily on workers’ remittances from abroad and has been seeking to channel more inflows through formal banking systems by strengthening digital and regulated payment networks, as authorities try to curb informal mechanisms such as hawala and hundi, underground value transfer systems that move money outside the banking sector.
