Pakistan lacks financial independence, its foreign policy not free from US influence, says NSA Dr Moeed Yusuf

Pakistan does not have financial independence and its foreign policy is not free from the US influence, said the country's National Security Adviser Dr Moeed Yusuf on Monday.

"When we cannot [fulfil] the demands, we seek foreign loans. When you procure loans, your economic sovereignty is compromised," Geo News quoted Yusuf as saying on Monday.

Further, Yusuf lamented that whenever a country seeks a loan from International Monetary Fund (IMF) or any other foreign organization, the nation compromises its economic sovereignty with such demands from global bodies.

"It affects a country's foreign policy," said Yusuf, stressing that when foreign policy is affected, you cannot run the affairs as they would be in an ideal situation.

Yusuf noted that when a country is dependent on international money lenders, it cannot allocate resources for human welfare or traditional security -- armed forces and internal security, according to Geo News.

The NSA also emphasised that a country cannot have financial independence till it fulfils all local demands through its own resources.

With regard to the foreign policy, Yusuf said, "It is still not [free from US influence] and I doubt that there is any country which is free from it."

Yusuf is set to visit Kabul in a few weeks. He will head a senior delegation of Pakistani officials during his Kabul visit for further engagement with the Afghan government on all "assistance-related" prospects. His visit comes a few weeks after the Taliban prevented the Pakistan Army from fencing the border with Afghanistan as the two countries have issues over the Durand Line.

( With inputs from ANI )

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