New Delhi : Pakistan should become a “trading nation” rather than a “warrior nation” while ensuring it does not turn into China’s pawn, Islamabad’s former envoy to the US, Husain Haqqani, has said.
In an interview to PTI, Haqqani said Pakistan also needs to take a call on what is more important – supporting terror suspect Hafiz Saeed or gaining international credibility and respect. Amid the consolidation of the already-robust Sino-Pak ties, Haqqani, who served as ambassador to the US from 2008 to 2011, stressed Pakistan should not go from being dependent on the US to relying on China and must refrain from becoming a “Chinese pawn”. “Pakistan needs to build a self-sustaining economy,” he said, warning Islamabad of the pitfalls of aligning with a major power.
Haqqani, who was in India last week for the launch of his new book ‘Reimagining Pakistan: Transforming a Dysfunctional Nuclear State’, said the country needs to “re-think its overall direction”, including in the economic sector. P
“Trying to take advantage of its strategic location by allowing itself to be used by one major power or another has brought Pakistan to the present situation and if we continue to play the same game, the result is not going to be very different in the future,” he said.