12 December 2004	Sunday	29 Shawwal 1425

KARACHI, Dec 11: The visiting delegation of Egyptian media on Saturday stressed the need for enhancing relations between Cairo and Islamabad in political, economic and cultural fields.

The delegation was exchanging views during interaction with members of the Pakistan Institute of International Affairs (PIIA) on various issues, including Middle East situation and the ongoing efforts for normalization of Pakistan-India relations.

The delegation was led by Dr Ihab El Sharif, Deputy Assistant Minister for Mashriq. Mrs Zeinab Abbas, Director of the Middle East News Agency (MENA), Mohammad Ibrahim Shaker, Vice-Chairman of the Council for Foreign Affairs, and Mr Tariq Fouda of weekly Saa were other members of the team. The interaction session was chaired by PIIA Chairman Fatehyab Ali Khan.

The visitors were of the view that the peoples of Egypt and Pakistan were close to each other and it would not be in the interest of either of the two to remain far apart. They recalled that in the past, due to compulsions of the Cold War policies, Egypt and Pakistan found themselves in the opposite camp. But now, after 9/11, the situation had changed.

They were of the view that prior to the 9/11 event, Pakistan was in great trouble and reached almost the brink of bankruptcy with its forex reserves having come down to $500 million.

Today, they said, the country's image had improved and it was getting stable politically and economically. The forex reserves, shot up to $12 billion now, were playing a major role internationally, especially in the war on terrorism, they observed.

Recognising Pakistan's support on the Palestinian issue, some of the visitors said that Egypt's stance on Kashmir issue was influenced by the Cold War politics.

While discussing the present government's performance, some of the delegation members observed that Gen Musharraf had done a miracle and ensured security of Pakistan's nuclear assets by taking appropriate position in the aftermath of the 9/11 tragedy. However, some of other members were of the view that his regime had undermined democratic dispensation, though political parties were also to be blamed for that. They also pointed out that benefits of the claimed economic progress had not filtered down to the common man who continued to face joblessness and was made to pay more for basic needs.

The visitors were informed about the efforts being made for the normalization of relations between Pakistan and India. It was pointed out that public pressure in both the countries was mounting on their respective governments for peace. They were told that the resolution of Kashmir issue remained the main hurdle in this regard. Unless this issue was resolved, peace would remain elusive, they were informed.

The delegation was told that Kashmiris on both sides of the divide were being gradually involved in the ongoing process of bilateral dialogue.