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Thursday, July 22, 2010
Pakistan, NATO agree to strengthen political ties
* Qureshi says Pakistan, NATO will continue to work for regional stability
* Rasmussen says Pakistan’s action against terrorists will improve ‘overall security situation’ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and NATO on Wednesday agreed to initiate work on strengthening political framework besides their ongoing military-to-military cooperation.
Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi and NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen, at a joint press conference following a round of talks, vowed to further expand political cooperation. Qureshi said Pakistan and NATO would continue to work as close partners for the stability of the region and to achieve shared objectives.
“Pakistan and NATO enjoy an important relationship and intend to build upon it... it goes beyond Afghanistan,” he added.
The NATO secretary general said the alliance saw Pakistan as an important player in the region and appreciated its efforts to achieve regional peace and stability.
He commended Pakistan’s operations in the Tribal Areas and to improve the overall security situation. He mentioned the tripartite arrangement with NATO and said it would encourage Pakistan to continue it.
“I strongly appreciate NATO’s developing relations with Pakistan and it is my strong desire to deepen it politically as well as militarily,” he added. “This is also the reason why I have suggested that we initiate work hopefully leading to a strengthened political framework for our cooperation,” the secretary general said.
Security situation: Rasmussen praised Pakistan’s regional role and said the country’s action against terrorists along the border with Afghanistan would improve the “overall security situation”. He described the Kabul conference as a great success for Afghanistan and the region and said the alliance was committed to Afghanistan for the long term. He made it clear that “we will not leave Afghanistan prematurely”.
NATO is there for the overall security of the region and its stay would be “driven not by calendar, but by commitment”, Rasmussen added. He said it is important that NATO makes contributions to regional peace and stability while having a long-term partnership with Pakistan.
“We will not leave behind a vacuum and create an unstable situation in your neighbourhood,” he added.
He also appreciated the recently-inked Afghan Transit Trade Agreement and said “it will promote peace and stability in the region and lead to economic development for mutual benefit of all countries of the region”.
The foreign minister said Pakistan had addressed all major concerns regarding the agreement, adding that Afghanistan’s demand for “Indian exports through Wahga were addressed by saying no and this was a major concession extracted in our talks”.
Information: When asked to comment on a statement that Osama Bin Laden and other top Taliban leadership was in Pakistan, Qureshi said had they been here “we would have arrested them, as they are not friends of Pakistan, the region or the globe”. “If there is credible information, it should be shared with Pakistan,” he added. agencies
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk