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PR. No.292/2008
Date: 26/09/2008
FOREIGN MINISTER QURESHI MEETS NATO SECRETARY GENERAL
The Foreign Minister, Makhdoom Shah Mahmood Qureshi, today met with Secretary General of NATO, Mr. Jaap de Hoop Scheffer on the margins of the 63 rd session of the UN General Assembly in New York .
The Foreign Minister stressed that Pakistan shared the objectives of the international community in the fight against terrorism and extremism, however, the approach to achieve those objectives could be different. He said that the international community and its allies must be sensitive to Pakistan 's concerns regarding any cross border attacks on its territory. Such attacks, he underlined, threatened to undermine the consensus emerging in Pakistan that it was fighting this war in its own interest. Also, the militants were taking advantage of the attacks for propaganda purposes. He appreciated that NATO's position was closer to Pakistan on the issue of respecting its sovereignty.
The Foreign Minister requested support from NATO and Pakistan 's allies for the democratically elected government through capacity building of its security forces and strengthening its economy. The tribal areas of Pakistan , in particular, needed to be developed as the militants were exploiting the deprivation of the local population to achieve their ends. He assured the Secretary General of Pakistan 's intention to bring peace and stability in Afghanistan as it was in its own long term interest.
The NATO Secretary General expressed condolences over the bombing of the Marriot Hotel. He assured the Foreign Minister of NATO's support to Pakistan . He emphasized that NATO forces adhered to a strict policy to not use force inside sovereign Pakistani territory. NATO and Pakistan , he underlined, shared the same objectives as the innocent people of Pakistan were being killed by the same people who were killing NATO soldiers. He considered Pakistan to be part of the solution and not the problem.
The Foreign Minister also informed the Secretary General about the initiative of the Friends of Pakistan (FoP) which was intended to create global ownership of the current crisis in the region as it impacted not only the regional countries but the entire world. The NATO Secretary General appreciated the FoP initiative and offered to be part of it if it contained a security component. NATO, he emphasized, could do a lot in this regard and he promised to make personal efforts for the capacity building of the Pakistani security forces.
New York
26 September 2008 |