Long term policies required to meet challenges: Qureshi

Multan: Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi on Tuesday said that long term policies were required to meet all the challenges facing the country. “Pakistan is facing several challenges and consultation is being made with former diplomats, experts and academia to formulate effective foreign policy,” the foreign minister said while addressing a function. He said it was essential that “we consult experts and implement their opinions while devising foreign policy. Consultation with the retired foreign secretaries was also underway.” Qureshi said building a national level consensus was inevitable. “We will have to decide about the direction of Pakistan in the next few years.” He said Pakistan did not have as many universities as it should have. An educational institute gave you awareness about observation and thinking, he said. The foreign minister said that creation of small units including South Punjab province will help to strengthen the federation. He said that the location of South Punjab secretariat should be decided through consensus and on merit. Shah Mehmood Qureshi said that writers and intellectuals of this belt should write for South Punjab province if they thought it was imperative for the development of this area.