Envoy rejects concerns about Pakistan’s reliability
By Masood Haider
NEW YORK, Dec 10: The repeated public acknowledgment by President George W. Bush and the US administration of Pakistan’s role as a vital ally in the war on terrorism belie unwarranted concerns about Pakistan’s “reliability” and “responsibility,” said Munir Akram, Pakistan’s Ambassador to the United Nations.
In an Op-Ed article in New York Newsday, the fifth largest circulated paper in the United States, Akram writes that “the realization of America’s strategic goals requires Pakistan as a central partner, not a target. It is the second largest Muslim country, a militarily significant state, a moderating influence in the Islamic world”.
“America’s sustained and unreserved support can enable Pakistan to realize its vision of modernization, peace and prosperity for its people and for its region,” Akram said.
Akram was responding to a series of leaks by US officials in the news media about American concerns over Pakistan’s nuclear programme which is undermining Pakistan’s new relationship with the West
Pakistan’s chief delegate to the United Nations asserted that “Pakistan’s security and external policies will remain responsible and peaceful. Its nuclear capability, acquired only to deter aggression by a stronger, historically hostile, nuclear India, remains under tight command and control. There is no danger of leakage or loss of control. Pakistan would never help the spread of nuclear weapons, since this would be contrary to its national interest and consistent policy.”
Emphasizing that Pakistan “can help bridge the present gulf of mutual misunderstanding between Islam and the West” Akram, however, pointed out that “portraying and treating Pakistan as a hostile country will serve the aims of the adversaries of Pakistan and the United States, especially the terrorists: it does not serve the interests of either country.”
“Located at the nexus of South Asia, Central Asia and the Persian Gulf, Pakistan is destined to play a vital role in determining the strategic destiny of these three volatile but potentially productive regions of the world,” he said.
Akram stressed that the “silent revolution” in Pakistan can be secured if it enjoys the unreserved support of the United States and its friends.
“Sustainable economic growth and job creation are essential for such success. Pakistan’s economic and social reforms and development programs require enhanced market access in the United States and Europe, especially for its textile exports; more fundamental debt restructuring; greater concessional finance to implement ambitious social sector projects; significantly higher foreign, especially US investment, including in projects like the gas pipeline from Turkmenistan through Afghanistan to Pakistan,” he said.
Saying that “peace on Pakistan’s borders is equally indispensable, Akram noted that Pakistan’s new foreign minister has spurned the Indian deputy prime minister’s call for a “fourth war.”
“Portraying the entire Kashmiri struggle for self-determination as terrorism is a transparent and age-old colonial ploy. Violence in Kashmir consists of repression and resistance. Infiltration from across the Line of Control is not responsible for this. India’s Army chief has attested that infiltration is much reduced”, he pointed out.
