RAWALPINDI, Oct 16: Information Minister Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed on Saturday urged the United States to realize that Muslims want resolution of Kashmir and Palestine issues.

Addressing a public meeting here, he said the United States should understand that Muslims had a feeling that some of its policies were hurting them.

Muslims wanted resolution of the Palestine and Kashmir issues, he stressed.

The minister said Pakistan was on way to progress and would continue to play an important role in the region and at the world stage, adding that President General Pervez Musharraf had adopted a right policy in difficult circumstances faced by the country.

Due to the policies of President Musharraf, he said, Pakistan was safe and its nuclear programme intact.

He said the government was aware of people's demands and recognized that the issues of unemployment, inflation, sectarianism and law and order needed to be tackled.

He said the government bore a burden of Rs22 billion to save consumers from negative effects of the rise in petroleum prices in the international market.

He said some elements were trying to create disorder by spreading sectarianism, sending a message to the world that Pakistan could not run its affairs.

These elements, he added, wanted to malign Pakistan as a country where terrorists could find refuge.-APP