Lahore - United Kingdom’s decision to quit European Union will not affect Pakistan but for the EU it will be a setback having long lasting implications, said the participants of Waqt News programme Insight hosted by The Nation Editor Salim Bokhari the other day.
The programme was attended by former ambassador Javed Hussain, senior analyst PJ Meer, analyst and economist Khalid Mehmood Rasool.
Expressing his views former diplomat Javed Hussain said both EU and the United Kingdom will be at loss with this decision. He was of the view that the EU will become weaker with UK’s exit. He said the EU would be at loser’s end after quitting of a country having sound economy and nuclear weapons.
Commenting on the UK referendum results, analyst PJ Meer said British people wanted to quit from the EU long before but their leadership did not take any risk in this regard due to pressure from the IMF and other monetary institutions. Moreover, Obama too had asked UK not to quite but British people rejected all pressures and decided in favour of parting ways with the Union.
Analyst Khalid Mehmood Rasool said the decision will not have significant impact on Pakistan, however, for Pakistani investors who used to do business with EU through London it could be a matter of concern. They will have to face hardships now. One thing which became evident through this referendum was that majority of Scotish people voted against this decision and it could pave way for Scot Land’s permanent separation from Great Britain.
PJ Meer said England’s exit from Euro zone shows power of people and David Cameron’s by announcing his resignation upheld high moral values. He suggested that there should be referendums on important projects and government decisions so that real democracy might flourish in the country.