LONDON, May 9: Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani said on Wednesday that Pakistan and the United Kingdom were partners in the fight against terrorism and extremism and his country was committed to fighting the scourge till its elimination.

Addressing a reception held at the House of Commons for British lawmakers by High Commissioner Wajid Shamsul Hasan, Mr Gilani said the democratic government had given national ownership to the campaign against terrorism and it had taken all stakeholders on board on the issue.

Mr Gilani said parliament had recently reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to elimination of terrorism and it was combating extremism to safeguard Pakistan’s national interest.

“We have also repeatedly said that we will not allow our territory to be used for any kind of attacks on other countries and we expect that the soil of other countries will also not be used against Pakistan.”

He said that sacrifices made by Pakistan in its campaign against terrorism and extremism were unparalleled and the resolve of the two countries in this regard remained unshakeable.

The prime minister, who is here on a five-day official visit for the Enhanced Strategic Dialogue, had an extensive interaction with the British parliamentarians and shared experiences of the nascent democracy in Pakistan and challenges it faced.

Mr Gilani said that Enhanced Strategic Dialogue (ESD) initiated last year provided a framework for a regular and comprehensive review of excellent cooperation between the two countries.

The prime minister said the two governments had decided to jointly launch a trade and investment promotion roadmap that envisaged increasing bilateral trade to $2.5 billion by 2015 and to enhance investment opportunities     He said the United Kingdom had been a consistent advocate for Pakistan to gain enhanced trade access to the European Union.

“We are appreciative of the UK’s support for EU trade concessions for Pakistan and we hope that the United Kingdom will continue supporting Pakistan’s request for the GSP Plus.”

Mr Gilani said the ESD covered a wide spectrum of bilateral, regional and international issues of mutual interest.

“I am satisfied that we have made good progress under the ESD framework, and I look forward to holding detailed and wide-ranging discussions with Prime Minister Cameron and members of his cabinet to further intensify this cooperation.”

Mr Gilani said that relations between Pakistan and the United Kingdom were on a strong footing.

“Our ties have been traditionally warm and friendly given our shared history, cultural affinities and strong people-to-people contacts.”

The prime minister said that Pakistan believed that its agenda for prosperity and development could only be achieved in an environment of peace and security. He said it was in this context that Pakistan was keen to normalise its relations with all neighbours, particularly India and Afghanistan.

He said Pakistan strongly believed that a peaceful and stable Afghanistan was an absolute prerequisite for stability and peace in Pakistan. He said his country was the first to suffer because of strife in Afghanistan and would be the first to benefit from peace in Afghanistan.

However, the solution to Afghanistan’s problem lay inside Afghanistan. It had to come from Afghans and has to be led by Afghans themselves.

Referring to improvement in relations with India, Mr Gilani said that Pakistan had made tremendous strides in building constructive relationship with India.

“We have made significant progress on trade and economic cooperation and are in the process of granting the MFN status to India despite some hurdles. We have started the dialogue process with India. We want to resolve all outstanding issues, including Jammu and Kashmir, through an uninterrupted, meaningful and result-oriented dialogue.”

Mr Gilani said that parliaments of the United Kingdom and Pakistan enjoyed excellent relations and these were manifested through a regular exchange of visits by lawmakers from both sides. This needed to be further intensified, he added.

British MP Julian Brazier said the presence of many British lawmakers at the reception spoke of the high value that his country attached to relations with Pakistan.

He said Britain was serious in strengthening relations with Pakistan.

Pakistan’s High Commissioner Wajid Shamsul Hassan said Pakistan-UK relations were time-tested and had grown from strength to strength.—APP