May 23, 2008	Friday	Jamadi-ul-Awwal 17, 1429

QUETTA, May 22: German Ambassador Dr Gunter Mulack has said his government supports negotiations with the local Taliban but opposes any dialogue with Al Qaeda.

“Al Qaeda is a security threat and there should be no talks with it,” he said.

Dr Mulack, who is on a visit to Balochistan, told Dawn on Thursday that it was up to the people of Pakistan to find a solution to their internal security problems. “We never intervene in the policies of sovereign countries like Pakistan.”

The ambassador said his country was satisfied with Pakistan’s resolve to combat terrorism and Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani had reiterated the stand during his recent meeting with US President George W. Bush.

He said that fencing and mining the Pakistan-Afghan border would not solve the problems and stressed the need for a joint approach to combat terrorism.

Dr Mulack said that Balochistan was safe for foreigners and no foreigner had been targeted in the province. “Nationalists are fighting against Pakistani forces and not foreigners.”

However, he said that foreign investment would come only after improvement in the law and order situation.

When asked about German investment in Gwadar, he said that the area needed 15 to 20 years to be developed and still lacked some basic facilities.