Nawaz Sharif wants friendly relations with neighbouring countries

PESHAWAR: Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif today said he wants to have friendly relations with the neighbouring countries including India and Afghanistan and his government was moving in the right direction.

Addressing a press conference at Governor House here, he said relations with India were improving and Pakistan was trying to improve it further.

Sharif also declared that Peshawar-Kabul motorway would be constructed as part of friendly relations with Afghanistan.

He recalled that during his earlier term as Prime Minister in late 90s, the country was self-sufficient in power and had surplus electricity to be exported to India.

With China's investment, the construction of power projects was underway and would start generating electricity in three years, Sharif added.

He said anti-government protests by Imran and Qadri had delayed the installation of these projects.

Industrialists were ambitious to invest in the country but power shortage was a major impediment in this regard, he said.

He said a gas pipeline from the Iranian border would be laid up to Nawabshah while work on Lahore-Karachi motorway would start soon.

To a question on Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf leader Imran Khan's call to shut down Karachi today, the Prime Minister said the question better be asked about development projects rather than such protests.

Sharif said that the government was taking every possible step to eradicate terrorism for a peaceful and prosperous Pakistan.