News
Tuesday, May 14, 2013
Nawaz to be friends with US and India* PML-N chief promises ‘full support’ as US withdraws from Afghanistan
* Will work to ease mistrust with India
* Law and order situation in Karachi and Quetta will be tackled with help of other parties
* Tehreek-e-Insaf should respect the mandate of the people
RAIWIND: Incoming prime minister Nawaz Sharif on Monday reached out to India and the United States, pledging to strengthen relations after his thumping victory in landmark elections.
Nawaz promised Pakistan’s “full support” as the United States withdraws combat troops from Afghanistan next year and made overtures to nuclear rival India in a briefing with the foreign media at his family estate outside Lahore. In an astonishing comeback 14 years after he was ousted by a military coup and briefly jailed, his Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) is projected to win 130 of the 272 directly elected seats in the National Assembly.
“If there are concerns on either side I think we should address those concerns and strengthen this relationship,” Nawaz told journalists, referring to Pakistan’s alliance with the United States which can be notoriously difficult. The US and NATO are due to withdraw most of their troops from the war against the Afghan Taliban by the end of 2014 and Pakistan will be a key transit point for shipping home equipment overland to the port at Karachi.
“We will extend full support to them and we will see everything goes smoothly,” Nawaz said, hours after President Barack Obama said Washington was ready to work with Islamabad “as equal partners” and welcomed the transition. One thorn in the relationship is US drone strikes targeting Taliban and al Qaeda militants in the northwestern tribal belt, which are unpopular in Pakistan due to civilian casualties and seen as an infringement of sovereignty.
“This is a very important issue and our concern must be understood properly. We will sit with our American friends and we will certainly talk to them on this issue,” Nawaz said. He added that he would be “very happy” to invite Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to his swearing-in ceremony and hoped that he would visit soon. The Indian leader on Sunday congratulated him and expressed hope for better relations. But Sharif’s biggest challenges are likely to be closer to home – fixing the shattered economy, ending an appalling energy crisis and tackling militancy.
Nawaz said he will hold talks with the US over drone attacks as they are against the sovereignty of Pakistan. “We will convince the US to stop drone attacks.” Nawaz further said that he will work towards improving relations with Saudi Arabia. While speaking about the law and order situation in Karachi and Quetta, Nawaz said it will be tackled with the help of other parties, adding that he will do whatever he can to improve law and order in the country.
Nawaz called upon the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf to respect the mandate of the people and accept the results of the elections. The PML-N chief further said that elections were held for the first time without the army, adding that he will work with them in future to solve the problems faced by Pakistan. Addressing the issue of terrorism Nawaz said that he will develop a national policy to tackle terrorism, adding that several people fell victim to the problem during the PPP government.
Nawaz will likely need only the estimated 27 independents and his proportion of those seats reserved for women and minorities, to secure a majority in the first democratic transition in a country accustomed to long periods of military rule. agencies
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk