KARACHI, March 7: Founder of Muttahida Qaumi Movement Altaf Hussain said on Tuesday that  army alone cannot protect the country’s integrity and  it has to be the joint obligation of people and institutions.

He made the remark during a meeting with Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz in London on Monday.

According to a press release from party’s international secretariat, issued late last night, Mr Hussain emphasised that the internal and external challenges the country was facing demanded replacing petty differences with cohesive and collective thinking at all levels.

Sticking to rigidity on sensitive issues or making them point of ego will be wrong. Therefore, combined efforts were needed to protect nation’s integrity, stability and prosperity, he said.

Talking to media Mr Hussain said that differences of opinion formed essence of democracy and different viewpoint must be heeded to.

Dwelling on last week’s visit to Pakistan by President George W Bush, Mr Hussain said the situation created after the visit to Islamabad was because governments in the past had pursued short-term policies instead of long term plans, and had nothing do with President General Pervez Musharraf or Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz.

Steps taken by the present government for the progress and prosperity of the country has helped economy to improve, but if the country’s strategic position had weakened it was due mainly to faulty policies of the previous administrations. The need of the hour, therefore , was to be rational in our approach and help promote national unity.