News
Saturday, June 05, 2010
NATO, Pakistan seek to boost non-military ties* NATO secretary general hails Pakistan’s sacrifices in war against terrorism
By Saeed Minhas
BRUSSELS: Pakistan and NATO have agreed to boost non-military ties, as Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani held a high-level meeting at NATO Headquarters in Brussels on Friday.
The PM led a parliamentary delegation during the interaction with NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen.
The Pakistani delegation included Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Commerce Minister Makhdoom Amin Fahim, Awami National Party (ANP) leader Asfandyar Wali Khan, members of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F).
Later while addressing a joint press conference, the NATO secretary general hailed the efforts and sacrifices of Pakistani people and security forces in the ongoing war on terrorism.
He also made it clear that “NATO has no desire to quit Afghanistan and would stay there as long as it takes to finish its job”.
In his address to the North Atlantic Council, the PM focused on Pakistan’s relations with NATO, Afghanistan and India and said Pakistan knew fully well how to plan its strategy to cope with all challenges it is facing.
“We know better than most outsiders how best to take forward our counter-terror efforts,” he said, adding that Pakistan has not only proven its ability to do so but also managed the internally dislocated people by terrorism in a short span of time.
Gilani stressed that Pakistan has done and accomplished more in Afghanistan than the international forces.
He said terrorism has had a devastating impact on our society and it was a product of “an odd inter-play of global strategic struggles of the past”.
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk