Ex-FM Kasuri says stronger Pakistan-India-China ties key to regional prosperity

LAHORE: Former foreign minister Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri has said peaceful coexistence among Pakistan, India and China is necessary to advance regional connectivity, secure trade corridors and address poverty in what he described as one of the world’s poorest regions.

He was speaking at an event in Lahore on Monday held to mark 75 years of diplomatic relations between Pakistan and China and the 105th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China. The gathering included Chinese Consul General Sun Yan, Understanding China Forum founding president Zafaruddin Mahmood, and former ambassador and Beaconhouse National University Centre for Policy Research director Mansoor Ahmad Khan, along with diplomats, scholars and policymakers.

Kasuri outlines China’s development model

Kasuri, who also serves as chairman of the Understanding China Forum, said Pakistan’s recent diplomatic and defence successes had given the country confidence to pursue constructive engagement across South and Central Asia.

Discussing China’s development path, he said the country’s rise was shaped by visionary leadership, strategic planning and a consistent focus on improving public welfare. He listed four factors behind that progress, beginning with people-centred governance through poverty reduction, healthcare, education and infrastructure.

He identified theoretical innovation as the second pillar and said it reflected the ability to adjust strategy in line with changing domestic and international conditions while maintaining long-term development objectives. The third, he said, was leadership development, with the Communist Party of China placing importance on identifying and training capable cadres for disciplined and effective governance. The fourth was a commitment to peaceful development, which he said was reflected in China’s promotion of international stability, cooperation and a shared future while pursuing economic growth.

Kasuri also reviewed major revolutions in world history and contrasted the Chinese Communist Revolution of 1949 with earlier developments in Europe, the United States and the Soviet Union. He said Chairman Mao Zedong had adapted Marxism from an urban-based ideology into an agrarian movement rooted in rural struggle, citing the Long March as an example.

Turning to the post-Mao period, he said Deng Xiaoping played a decisive role in modernising China and introduced guiding principles under the concept of Socialism with Chinese characteristics. Referring to one of Deng’s best-known formulations, Kasuri cited the dictum: "It doesn’t matter if a cat is black or white, so long as it catches mice."

On the current period under President Xi Jinping, Kasuri said China had moved beyond concealing its capabilities and was now pursuing a more active global role through high-quality development, technological self-reliance, the Belt and Road Initiative and the idea of a Community of Shared Future. He also conveyed greetings to the Communist Party of China and congratulated the People’s Liberation Army on its 99th anniversary.

CPEC potential remains underutilised, says Fawad

Former principal secretary to the prime minister Fawad Hassan Fawad said that when the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor moved into its implementation phase, it was widely presented as a flagship initiative across the government, bureaucracy and media.

He said Pakistan had yet to fully benefit from the project and lamented the shortfall in outcomes. "And yet, we have not been able to achieve even 25pc of the project’s true potential, and we have fallen behind in securing its promised gains," he said.

Former provincial finance minister Salman Shah, DWP Group CEO Farooq Naseem, Understanding China Forum director Syed Yawar Ali, former foreign secretary Shamshad Ahmed Khan, Civil Services Academy Director General Farhan Aziz Khawaja and Lt-Gen Shafaatullah Shah also addressed the event.