Lahore: Jamaat-ud-Dawa chief Hafiz Muhammad Saeed has said an attempt was being made to make Pakistan a market for Indian goods at the cost of his country’s industry and agriculture that will ultimately weaken its defence vis-à-vis India.
“If we are in a state of war, it is not fought with weapons alone. Trade and economy is also used as a weapon to defeat the enemy country”, The Nation quoted him, as saying.
He is also opposed giving transit facility to India to trade with Afghanistan, saying Pakistan was not formed to facilitate Indian trade with other countries.
He claimed that Pakistan would lose its case in the International Court of Arbitration regarding illegal construction of dams on rivers originating in Kashmir after purchasing electricity from India.
“It is irony of fate that India was trying to sell cheap electricity to Pakistan which has been generated by stopping Pakistan’s waters,” he added.
He claimed the US had wanted to get access to the Guadar Port and was thereby inciting a handful of miscreants to separate Balochistan from Pakistan.
He said tabling of a resolution that seeks a separate status for Balochistan in the US Congress was an ample proof of its involvement in the province.
He denied claims of a separatist movement in Balochistan and slammed such speculations as mere propaganda by the US and India.
“I have visited the province many a time and have also talked to Baloch political organisations and the general public. They want to live within the constitutional framework of Pakistan,” he added.
Hafiz said he was not a part of any armed movement, but warned that he would adopt any means to defend its country if it came under threat.
ANI
First Published: Saturday, April 07, 2012, 18:31