Ambassador Jalil Abbas Jilani spoke on “Pakistan’s Paradigm Shift” at Chicago Council on Global Affairs

In his remarks the Ambassador outlined consolidation and maturing of democracy as a defining feature of contemporary Pakistan. He said that people of Pakistan believe in basic human freedoms and rule of law. An independent media and an active Judiciary are clear manifestations of this trend, he said.

The Ambassador articulated Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s vision of a peaceful neighborhood as means for shared security and prosperity in the entire region. He added that in line with this vision of the Prime Minsiter, Pakistan had made sincere overtures to its neighbours to transform existing bilateral relationships.

Speaking on Pakistan -US bilateral relations, the Ambassador said that the resumption of Strategic Dialogue process reflects the strong desire of the two sides to give an impetus to cooperation in the key areas of trade, investment, energy, agriculture, education and science and technology.

Responding to questions during the interactive session, Ambassador Jilani illustrated various measures undertaken by the government to improve the economy and overcome energy crises.

The event was attended by a large number of scholars and representatives of academia based in Chicago.

May 23, 2014
Washington D.C