ISLAMABAD, Oct 30: Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz and President Gen Pervez Musharraf on Monday said Pakistan was keen to promote peace in the region. In separate meetings with the visiting Swiss Defence Minister Samuel Schmid, they stressed that Pakistan was maintaining its tactical as well as strategic capabilities to ensure peace in the region.

President Gen Musharraf said Pakistan was a peaceful country and does not harbour aggressive designs against any country.

Prime Minister Aziz said the world needed to focus on ensuring sustainable peace in the region. He said more needed to be done for creating economic opportunities for the people of Afghanistan to bring prosperity and hope for the future.

He said Pakistan abhorred terrorism in all its forms and manifestation and it, along with international community, was making efforts to root out this menace from the world.

Emphasizing the need to address the root-causes of terrorism, Mr Aziz said terrorism stemmed from a feeling of injustice, deprivation and lack of opportunities and the world community should pay more attention to eliminate the problems.

He talked of the widening gulf between people following different faiths and said the world needed to work harder to create interfaith, inter-civilisation, inter-cultural harmony to make the world a better place to live.

Mr Aziz said Pakistan was a democracy in transition and all democratic institutions were gaining strength.

Mr Schmid discussed the regional and international political and economic situation with Prime Minister Aziz.

He emphasized the need to enhance economic cooperation and strengthen bilateral ties between Pakistan and Switzerland.

The meeting was attended among others by Rao Sikandar Iqbal, Senior Minister for Defence.

The Swiss defence minister also held a separate meeting with Rao Sikandar Iqbal.