News
Friday, October 22, 2010
US must resolve Kashmir issue for peace in South Asian region
* Qureshi urges US to open its markets to Pakistani goods
* No wavering in Pakistan’s resolve to fight extremism and terrorism
WASHINGTON: Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Wednesday urged the United States to resolve the Kashmir issue for peace in the region.
“Any person of conscience cannot ignore the use of brute force against the defence-less Kashmiri youth,” he told a distinguished gathering at Brookings Institute, a Washington-based think-tank, as the US-Pakistan strategic dialogue entered its second day.
Qureshi said more than 100 people, mostly teenagers, had been killed by Indian security forces. “Their mothers are rightly bewildered at the deafening silence of the international community,” he told the audience.
Pakistan’s deep interest in a peaceful and stable South Asia was endangered by the recent events in Kashmir, he said.
“Wisdom proposes that the aspirations of any people cannot be suppressed by the use of force,” Qureshi said, adding, “Such will be with the legitimate rights of the Kashmiri people. Qureshi also urged the United States to open its markets to Pakistani goods for supporting Pakistan’s economic recovery and sustained development.
“We need trade, not just aid. We do not seek dependency, we seek economic viability,” the foreign minister said in a wide-ranging speech in which he also reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to fight extremism and terrorism. He also urged the United States to pass legislation for reconstruction opportunity zones for FATA and also a Free Trade Agreement with Pakistan. While stressing that Pakistan’s policies were guided by its national interests, Qureshi said there was no wavering in Pakistan’s resolve to fight extremism and terrorism; that the global fight against terrorism had advanced thus far, essentially, on the basis of international cooperation. app
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk