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| October 16, 2003 | Thursday | Sha'aban 19, 1424 |
Saudi envoy stresses cooperation in war against terrorism
ISLAMABAD, Oct 15: Pakistan and Saudi Arabia will enhance cooperation in the global war against terrorism and discuss means to strengthen ties in trade, economy and defence during the visit of Crown Prince Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz, Saudi Ambassador Ali Awadh Asseri has said.
The meeting of the leaders from the two most important Muslim nations was of great significance and would provide an opportunity to them to review the situation in Iraq, Afghanistan and Palestine, he said in an interview with APP. The visit “comes at a very critical moment for the Muslims,” he said.
The prince will arrive here on Oct 18, on his way to Saudi Arabia after attending the 10th Organization of Islamic Conference summit in Malaysia.
“Anything which has a positive impact in promoting our relationship will be on top of the agenda,” the ambassador said.
In reply to a question, he said the Kashmir issue would figure during the discussions and “we want to see a peaceful solution of the problem.”
Saudi Arabia, he said, “had always supported United Nations resolutions on the Kashmir issue and encouraged positive and genuine dialogue between the two countries” leading to “a good compromise solution.”
He appreciated the steps taken by Pakistan for the normalization of relations with India.
He said Saudi-Pakistan relations had strengthened, specially in the fight against terrorism.
“Our efforts have been doubled, our determination has been absolutely strong to fight terrorism and make sure that those people who have been misled and indoctrinated are back on track and learn (about) the right and positive image of Islam,” he said.
He said: “We need to educate the West about the value of our religion and culture. The West has also to come forward to learn about Islam.”
“Islam does affect us in our daily lives, the West lacks a lot of knowledge about true Islam and we should not allow extremism to be presented as a face of Islam,” he said.
He said: “We certainly encourage the presentation of the genuine and true face of Islam as it has everything in it that offers humanity.” He said: “Our religion is of tolerance.”
In a reference to the extremism and sectarianism in the Muslim world, he said: “We need to examine all sorts of wrong thinking of individuals and groups who have been misled.”
He said the ulema had a big responsibility to present the true image of Islam.
He said cooperation in the economic field was a very important part of the two country’s relationship.
He said the strong ties between the two countries in the political sphere needed to be translated into increased economic cooperation. He said the commerce ministries and chambers of the countries had a big role to play.
Exhibitions of products could be organized to boost interaction and promotion of trade and economic ties, he said.
Replying to a question, he said the countries enjoyed good military cooperation and there had been exchange of technical delegations between them.
He denied reports that Pakistan might send troops to Saudi Arabia.
About sending of Pakistani troops to Iraq, he said: “The matter is irrelevant to us” as it has to be decided by Pakistan.
Mr Asseri expressed optimism about the efforts towards the revitalization of the OIC and said: “We hope it will be a strong and effective organization to effectively pursue the goals it was designed for.”
Replying to a question, he said: “We have good relations with both the American people and the government. “Let’s not be misled by irresponsible Western media or certain individuals who have their own agenda,” he said.
He said Pakistan and Saudi Arabia were part of the joint efforts in combating terrorism everywhere.
He said the cooperation had been “very effective” and had been “appreciated”.—APP
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