Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi listens to a question during a press conference in Tokyo. -AFP Photo

TOKYO Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said Wednesday that Pakistan can be a role model for the Muslim world, speaking ahead of a donors` meeting in Japan where Islamabad hopes to secure huge aid contributions.

`Pakistan has transferred towards democracy,` Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said. `And today I represent a democratically elected government of Pakistan.`

Pakistan can be a role model of the Muslim world,` he told reporters ahead of the meeting that aims to raise four to six billion dollars for the poverty-stricken country.

Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari arrived in Tokyo Wednesday evening to attend the conference, which US envoy Richard Holbrooke is also due to join.

Qureshi said Pakistan has `a functioning democracy` with an elected president, national and district parliaments and its first woman speaker in the national assembly.

What Pakistan seeks from the Friday meeting is `an expression of political support of Pakistan`s solidarity, Pakistan`s role... as a frontline state fighting extremism and terrorism,` he said.

Washington has put Pakistan at the heart of the fight against Al-Qaeda and US President Barack Obama has unveiled a sweeping new strategy to turn around the Afghan war and defeat Islamist militants on both sides of the border.

Qureshi also said a majority of Pakistani people would like to see friendly ties with India as well as neighbouring countries Afghanistan and Iran.

`Our movements towards normalisation (of ties with India) was very good. Unfortunately the Mumbai incident did create a setback,` he said, referring to the November 26-29 siege that killed 165 people and derailed a five-year peace process between the south Asian rivals.

`But I must share with you that there is a large constituency of Pakistan that feels that it is Pakistan`s interest to have a normal, good, neighbouring relationship with India,` he said.

On Iran and Afghanistan, Qureshi said he had invited senior officials from both countries to come to Islamabad to discuss Afghan refugees and efforts to fight the narcotics trade and terrorism.

`Because when we talk about a regional approach to deal with terrorism and extremism, Iran is an important player in the region,` he said.

Cost to Pakistan

The international community, donors and friends of Pakistan will cooperate keeping in view Pakistans economic and security challenges, foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said on Wednesday.

Pakistan has directly and indirectly spent 34.5 billion dollars on the war on terror and the countrys parliament and democratic institutions are working together for the peoples development, he told reporters while attending the Pakistan donor countries meeting in Tokyo.