11 October 2004	Monday	25 Shaban 1425

ISLAMABAD, Oct 10: A group of German parliamentarians accompanying their visiting Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder called on their Pakistani counterparts at the Parliament House here on Sunday.

The Pakistani parliamentarians were led by Senator Mushahid Hussain, while the German parliamentarians were led by Markus Loning. Talking to the delegation, Senator Mushahid Hussain said Pakistan-Germany relations had been rooted in deep cultural and intellectual understanding.

Mushahid invited German investors to invest in Pakistan, as it offered attractive incentives in many areas. He said was a consensus in Pakistan parliament that democracy was the ultimate goal of the Pakistani society.

Talking about Pakistan's role in war against terrorism and extremism, he remarked that associating extremism with a particular religion was not correct. He said there could be extremism in policies as well and that the West needed to think hard on the question whether their policies were evoking extremism.

He said the world recognized the role of Pakistan in war against terrorism, but nobody knew the price Pakistan was paying as a country, although, he remarked, the issue of terrorism was West's own creation.

The other members pointed out the areas of cooperation between the two countries like education, health and environment. - APP