On 7 March 2006, Mr Shaukat Aziz, Prime Minister of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, delivered a Special Address at the IISS. He spoke on ‘Pakistan’s Pivotal Role for Regional Peace, Stability and Progress’.
In his address on Pakistan’s pivotal role for regional peace, stability and progress Mr Aziz spoke of the terrorist threat and of the dangers of Islamic-Western polarisation. He said that the unjustified profiling of Muslims and vilification such as through the recent publications and reprinting of the blasphemous sketches of Prophet Mohammad has understandably angered Muslims the world over. Extremists on both sides must not be allowed to push the agenda for a clash of civilizations.
Mr Aziz referred to Pakistani President Musharraf’s concept of ‘Enlightened Moderation, calling upon Muslim societies to reform an the West to help resolve disputes that have caused sufferings, anger and frustration among Muslims’. Chief among these, he said, are the conflicts in Palestine and Iraq.
