LONDON, March 08: Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz has said that Pakistan’s pivotal role for regional peace cannot be underscored as Pakistan is a stable country endowed with rich human and material resources, which is moving on the path of progress and prosperity and is committed to maintaining regional peace.
Addressing the International Institute for Strategic Studies IISS in London on Tuesday PM Shaukat Aziz emphasizing Pakistan’s pivotal role for peace, stability and progress in our region and beyond said, " Pakistan of today and tomorrow is not the Pakistan of yesterday. Today, ours is a strong and stable country of 150 million people, endowed with rich human and material resources, which is moving on the path of progress and prosperity.
Over the past six years our Government has made strenuous efforts to revitalize and reposition Pakistan through broad ranging structural reforms covering the political, economic and social sectors.
We have brought democracy to the door step of the voters through decentralization and empowerment of the people at the grass-roots level. We have provided clean and transparent governance. The Opposition in Parliament is assertive and vocal. We have a free and vibrant media. The next cycle of elections has already begun with the completion of local bodies elections in August last year leading up to Provincial and National level elections next year."
He said in the economic sector, our reforms have been based on the three pillars of deregulation, liberalization and privatization. As a result, our economy is on an upward growth trajectory with over eight percent growth last year. Our agricultural and industrial productivity is growing.
"The achievement of stability and prosperity at home has enabled us to leverage our geo-political location for the promotion of peace, stability and progress in our region. Pakistan is strategically located at the confluence of three volatile yet vital regions of the world - South Asia, Central Asia and West Asia. Ours is, therefore, a pivotal role for the promotion of multi-sectoral intra-regional cooperation which provides the basis for peace and prosperity in the area.
Pakistan provides the shortest access to the sea for all the land locked countries of Central Asia as well as to western China", PM said.
Reaffirming Pakistan’s commitment to regional peace PM said Pakistan has been playing a key role in the international war against terrorist and have handed over a number of terrorists and we are confident that the AI-Qaeda network has been broken However, this does not mean that we are complacent. We will continue with our counter-terrorism efforts in coordination with the international community.
But we also believe that a final solution of the problem of terrorism requires addressing the root causes. These lie in the sense of deprivation, injustice and exploitation of people such as those in Palestine and elsewhere. It is also necessary to reject campaigns of prejudice and hate especially linking terrorism with Islam. Terrorism has no faith nor nationality.Islam is a faith of peace, tolerance and compassion.
Condemning the publication of blasphemous cartoon issue he said the unjustified profiling of Muslims, and vilification such as through the recent publications and reprinting of the blasphemous sketches of Prophet Mohammad (Peace Be Upon Him) has understandably angered Muslims the world over. This dangerous divide between Islam and the West must be bridged. Extremists on both sides must not be allowed to push the agenda for a clash of civilizations. Instead we need to promote a dialogue for interfaith harmony and understanding.
With respect to Afghanistan he said that a stable and strong Afghanistan is also in the interest of Pakistan.
" We, therefore, fully support the Government of President Karzai and facilitated the electoral process in the country. We have also taken extensive measures along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, with the deployment of more than 80,000 troops, to ensure security within Afghanistan. We have extended 250 million dollars worth of assistance and are engaged in numerous infrastructure reconstruction projects",
PM said We also undertook to improve our cooperation for interdiction of drug trafficking.
These efforts need to be supported by the international community, especially by enhancing capacity on both sides for more effective anti-narcotics operations along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border and within Afghanistan. Drugs and terrorism have a close nexus, PM said.
"With India, we are engaged in a composite dialogue as part of the peace process to resolve all issues and improverelations. As a result, the atmosphere between the two countries has greatly improved. We have successfully implemented several confidence building measures including increased people-to-people contacts. Cricket has provided a great opportunity to build bridges and interaction between us is also increasing in other areas. We believe that the time is now ripe to move towards dispute resolution.
A durable peace in South Asia requires a just settlement of the Kashmir dispute in accordance with the wishes of the Kashmiri people. We recognize that a solution must be found that is acceptable to all three parties, Pakistan, India and most importantly the Kashmiris. To achieve such a solution, all of us will need to demonstrate courage, flexibility, determination and above all passion for a solution", PM said.
We welcome the efforts of our friends to facilitate the settlement of the Kashmir dispute. Britain has a historic role in this regard and we have always encouraged the British to use their excellent relations with both India and Pakistan to help us in our efforts to resolve this issue, the PM said.
Expressing concern over the tensions emerging over the Iranian nuclear issue Prime Minister said Pakistan is opposed to nuclear weapons proliferation but we recognize Iran’s right to use nuclear energy for peaceful purposes under the appropriate IAEA safeguards.
We strongly advocate a negotiated solution to-this issue and oppose resort to the use of force as this will only aggravate the situation in an already disturbed region. We would encourage all concerned parties to ensure a peaceful resolution of the issue. Pakistan will certainly continue to do its part to advise restraint by all sides.
Dubbing Pakistan as a responsible nuclear weapon state PM said we adhere to a doctrine of minimum credible deterrence. We are opposed to a strategic arms race in the region and believe that induction of an anti-ballistic missile system would have a destabilizing impact on the entire region.
"We have also developed a strong command and control structure to protect our strategic assets. A connected issue is our interest in developing a civilian nuclear power generating sector under lAEA safeguards. Our growing energy needs and the fact that we are deficient in fossil fuel makes it important to expand our nuclear power generating capacity.
"We want to increase it to 8800MW in the next 25 years and look forward to international cooperation with appropriate safeguards", he said.
