Pakistan is a cradle of ancient civilizations: Ambassador Naghmana Hashmi

BEIJING, Dec 26 (APP):Pakistan is a cradle of ancient civilizations and contributed greatly to the development of human civilization, Pakistan Ambassador to China, Naghmana Alamgir Hashmi said on Thursday.
The old civilization of Pakistan leaves one in wonder having a basis of tolerance and accommodation, she said while addressing the audience at Tsinghua University, Beijing.
The event titled “Pakistan: The land of Sufis Mountains, Valleys and Deserts” was organized by Tsinghua Center for Pakistan Cultural and Communication Studies.
The region that now makes up Pakistan is believed to be the birthplace of civilization which was initially home to a number of old cultures.
Pakistan, she said, is located in South Asia. India borders it to the east, China to the northeast, Afghanistan to the west and Iran to the southwest. Pakistan, being located at the crossroads of South Central and West Asia offers immense potential for bringing closer the people of the region.
Ambassador Hashmi said that the birthplace of Hinduism and Sikhism. The birthplace of Hinduism is Indus River Valley which runs through northwest India to Pakistan. Buddhism flourished in Taxila and Swat Valley.
Islam was spread through the message of peace, love and tolerance and Sufis largely contributed to shaping Islamic society in India and Pakistan by spreading the message of humanity and tolerance.
Commenting on progress on China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a flagship project of Belt and Road Initiative, she remarked that it has entered the second phase and now the government is making efforts to establish special economic zones.
“I invite Chinese entrepreneurs and investors to relocate their industries and set up joint ventures or own investment in these special economic zones,” she added.
Ambassador Hashmi said that the industrial production and export is not only good for Pakistan and China but also other regional countries and that is why the government wants peace inside Pakistan and in the neighboring countries.
The people and government of Pakistan strongly advocate a peaceful democratic and strong Afghanistan in order to open the Central Asian market to Pakistan and China as well as other countries.
Regarding cultural exchanges and people to people contact, she said that both the countries have a lot of exchange programs, adding, every year, up to 100 Pakistani students visit China similarly 100 Chinese students are invited by Pakistan.
Pakistan offers scholarships to Chinese students to study in Pakistani universities and at present around 28,000 Pakistani students are studying in China out of which 7,000 on scholarships.
“In addition, both countries are jointly producing films while there are a lot of things which both countries are doing in order to make it easier for cooperation in literature,” she added.
Ambassador Hashmi said, there have been great efforts to open Pakistan Study Centers in China during the last 20 years and Pakistan Study Center at Tsinghua University is one example.
Now, we have Confucius Centers in all big cities in Pakistan. Both countries have translated books into Chinese and Urdu languages. A number of private and government schools have also started teaching the Chinese language to help Pakistani students to understand and know each other well right from primary school, she added.
Earlier, Prof Li Xiguang, Director of Tsinghua Center for Pakistan Cultural and Communication Studies welcomed the ambassador.
Scholars, diplomats, and a large number of international students attended the event.