‘Pakistan not to leave moral high ground against India’

islamabad — Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has slammed “irresponsible and imprudent” statements from the Indian leadership and vowed to protect his country’s “vital interests at all costs”.

Addressing a conference of Pakistan’s envoys here, he said such statements vitiate the atmosphere and take the two countries away from goals of regional peace and stability.

“The entire nation is dismayed by the recent irresponsible and I must say imprudent statements from the Indian political leadership. This vitiates the atmosphere and takes us further away from our goal of regional peace and stability. We will protect our vital interests at all costs,” he said.

This message, Sharif said, must be heard loud and clear. “At the same time we will not abandon our high moral ground because of provocations. We will continue our quest for a peaceful neighbourhood,” he said. Sharif said externally-sponsored terrorism and violent extremism were grave threats to a secure and prosperous Pakistan.

He said the issue of Jammu and Kashmir dispute cannot be relegated to the back-burner of history.

The prime minister pointed out that only on last Tuesday during his meeting with the UN Secretary General in Dushanbe, he urged him to play a proactive role in promoting peace in the region.

Sharif said he also reminded him that it was incumbent on the UN Security Council to ensure early implementation of its resolutions on Jammu and Kashmir.

Meanwhile, Foreign Office spokesperson Qazi Khalilullah has said Pakistan will take every step to protect its national interests.

He said the issue of the recent statements made by the Indian leadership would be taken up at the diplomatic level, a private TV channel reported. —