NEW DELHI, May 20: Prime Minister Zafarullah Khan Jamali said in remarks televised on Tuesday that an India-Pakistan rapprochement spurring them into a “compact bloc”, was the surest way to fend off threats to their sovereignty of the kind that had befallen to Afghanistan and Iraq.
Mr Jamali told Indian state-run Doordarshan that he was confident of complete success in his bid to help the two countries mend their fences to be able to fortify themselves against the kind of threat that had recently occurred to Afghanistan and Iraq.
Asked if this confidence of a breakthrough flowed from his talk with Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, Mr Jamali replied it was his sixth sense, his faith in Allah that gave him courage and guidance.
Mr Jamali was answering questions on the impact of Iraq on the region. He said he had observed this even before Mr Vajpayee pointed to the dangerous signals from Iraq. “I had said it was Afghanistan yesterday, it is Iraq today, what of tomorrow?”
Pakistan was relieved though that the economic fallout it feared from the Iraq war was overstated.
While the reconstruction of Iraq is a must, he said: “At times it looks odd that a country is attacked, beaten up for a month and then you start reconstructing it. It doesn’t make any sense at all.”
He asserted that whatever be the force of foreign designs, not even the tiniest country was going to put up with their hegemony any longer.
Mr Jamali said he appreciated Mr Vajpayee’s statement at the start of his peace initiative in Srinagar.
He cautioned however that “unfortunately there were one or two statements from the Indian side and from our side that pre- emptive measures should be taken against Pakistan and we said it should be against India. That was tit for tat.”
Of Vajpayee’s statement, he said: “Yes, I appreciated that. He is a very old statesman, very experienced politician.” He warned that the “only safety valve” against foreign incursions into the region was to have “very good relations with the neighbouring countries, try to be a compact bloc as a matter of fact, a situation when no one dares to touch you. Given the population of over a billion, it is difficult for others to ponder this, provided we stand as one.
He re-asserted: “We have to be seen as a compact bloc. There are many things that we have to put under the carpet. One must see eye to eye. We must ensure that we stand together as far as the region is concerned. I am confident very confident, Insha Allah things will turn out.”
“We have to, both the countries, look in the same direction. We cannot afford to look in different directions,” he said.
Asked if Pakistan was ready to improve trading relations with India, he remarked: “You open your hearts, we open up everything — trade, culture, aviation, everything.”
Mr Jamali said the various wings of the government, including the president, the army and the politicians were together on peace talks with India. “There is no difference in Pakistan as far as our policy towards India is concerned,” he said.
Asked if he was going to announce dates for the delayed Saarc summit, Mr Jamali said: “You get Mr Vajpayee to say yes to the summit, we’ll announce the dates right away.”
Mr Jamali said an early solution to all the issues with Pakistan was in India’s interest. “I can see plenty of benefits for your country which goes to polls in 2004. Stable and friendly relations will have a beneficial impact on you. It will help us too. I believe in sharing my happiness with my neighbour.”