News
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Pakistan, Afghanistan need Marshall Plan to curb militancy: Zardari
* President says both countries face similar problems, must speak ‘same language at int’l forums’
* Karzai, Zardari agree to convene meeting of Pak-Afghan peace jirgaStaff Report
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and Afghanistan must stand together and persuade the international community to devise a Marshall Plan for the region to banish militancy and its effects for all time to come, President Asif Ali Zardari said on Wednesday.
“The two countries need to speak the same language at international forums because both suffer from the same malaise caused by the same mindset of militancy and extremism,” APP quoted Zardari as saying at a dinner held in honour of Afghan President Hamid Karzai at the Presidency.
President Zardari said Pakistan was determined to fight militancy to the end, but this would be a long-drawn battle because there was no quick fix to this problem.
President Zardari stressed the need for greater economic cooperation, adding that the current government was determined to correct the mistakes of the past to carve out a better future.
Afghan President Karzai called for a partnership, which allowed for the realisation of the full potential of all the human and natural resources at the region’s disposal and urged greater links, more trade and economic cooperation. Karzai also thanked Zardari for Pakistan’s support and efforts in the rehabilitation and reconstruction of Afghanistan.
Peace jirga: Briefing the media, the president’s spokesman Farhatullah Babar said Zardari also endorsed a suggestion – made by his Afghan counterpart – to convene a meeting of the Pak-Afghan peace jirga after the Afghan peace jirga held its deliberations. Zardari suggested that the two foreign ministers should sit together and work out the modalities of this meeting.
Karzai arrived in Islamabad on Wednesday evening and is expected to remain in the capital today. He is expected to meet with other top officials, including Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani.
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk