March 27, 2007	Tuesday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 7, 1428

NEW YORK, March 26: Saying that South Asian region would be adversely affected by a continued confrontation between Washington and Tehran, Pakistan’s United Nations Ambassador Munir Akram said on Sunday that Islamabad is playing a vital role in defusing tensions.

Delivering a keynote address at the Columbia University he expressed concern over the confrontation between Iran and the United Nations and hoped that the issue would be resolved through diplomacy and that there would be no resort to force.

“We feel obliged to play a role to try and defuse tensions between Iran and the United States as Pakistan would be deeply affected by the continuing confrontation between them,” Mr Akram said, responding to a question from a student during a question-answer session Akram said: “Clouds are on the horizon coming from the (Persian) Gulf.”

Mr Akram observed that the confrontation building up between US and Iran would have "grave consequences" for the region.

The discussion on "Inside Pakistan" was organised by the Organisation of Pakistani Students in collaboration with Pakistan students at the City College of New York and the Pakistan-American leadership centre.

In his speech Mr Munir Akram said Pakistan was an economic success story, having created an excellent investment environment. The United Arab Emiratesalone has plans to invest $3.9 billion over the next five years.

Great strides have been in the field of education and efforts were being made to build a moderate, tolerant and progressive Islamic society as envisioned by Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah. "We're an Islamic state, not a theocratic state," Mr Akram emphasised.