Military action against Iran opposed: Aziz calls for diplomatic solution
LONDON, March 7: Pakistan will oppose any military action taken by the United States against Iran over its disputed nuclear programme, according to Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz.
“Pakistan’s view is that there should not be any military intervention and we would certainly not be party to any such action,” Mr Aziz told BBC television on Monday night.
The BBC had asked him about Washington’s refusal to rule out military action against Iran’s nuclear programme which US and European diplomats fear may be used for nuclear weapons. Iran insists it is peaceful.
He said Pakistan has always supported a diplomatic solution to the crisis over Iran’s uranium enrichment programme, especially through the forum of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna.
“We think Iran should not proliferate. We’re against production of any nuclear weapons in the region. We think Iran does have the right to use nuclear energy for peaceful purposes under IAEA safeguards and guidelines,” he said.
“We also feel negotiation is the way to go and we oppose any armed conflict in the region to settle the matter,” he said.
“We remain cautiously optimistic that they (negotiations) will produce results,” he said.
Unlike Iran, Pakistan was entitled to build a nuclear bomb once India set off such a weapon in 1974, he said.
“Once this happened ... we had to create a minimal credible deterrence to ensure peace in South Asia. In Iran’s case, we believe this is not necessary,” he said.
AFGHANISTAN: At a breakfast meeting, Prime Minister Aziz told a group of foreign and diplomatic editors Afghanistan has to do lot more to stop illegal movement across its borders with Pakistan, stop poppy cultivation and illegal arms flow.
“Pakistan has already done a lot, but it needs two to tango,” the prime minister said and informed the editors about measures taken by Pakistan to stop people entering the country from Afghanistan.
“Anytime there is any incident, it is very convenient to blame somebody, but more needs to be done on the ground,” he said and urged sharing of responsibility by Afghanistan.
He said Pakistan has arrested hundreds of runaway culprits from Afghanistan and deployed 80,000 troops along the Pak-Afghan border, but added that some miscreants do manage to slip in owing to the difficult terrain.
“We believe these should be intercepted on the other side also,” he added.
The prime minister also pointed at the presence of over three million refugees, which, he said, had created a critical mass of people and a sanctuary in the country.
He said Pakistan had asked the Afghan authorities and the UNHCR to accelerate their departure.
The prime minister expressed the belief that both sides need to ensure their borders were not porous and the illegal flow of people through the borders was contained. This however, has to be done, while also keeping in view that there were divided families on either side of the border, he added.
Mr Aziz said Pakistan had done much against terrorism, out of its conviction.
“If people find sanctuary in its border areas it then permeates to other parts of the country and becomes a security issue for Pakistan, there is no earthly reason for Pakistan to provide a sanctuary,” he stressed.
He said Pakistan caught more people than any other country, because it has an effective system to stem such a flow, but said that the long porous border in a difficult terrain needs efforts by both the countries to stop any illegal crossing.—Agencies
