National interests can’t be sacrificed for war on terror

[Lahore_Real_Estate]

* Foreign minister asks US to help resolve Kashmir issue

* Indian occupation, not Pakistani intervention, behind unrest in IHK

WASHINGTON: Pakistan will preserve its national interests as it partners with the US in fighting the terrorist threat, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said on the eve of the strategic partnership dialogue between Pakistan and the US.

Qureshi also renewed Islamabad’s desire to seek a civilian nuclear technology deal from the US as part of efforts to meet the country’s fast-expanding energy requirements.

In a speech at Harvard University’s Institute of Politics in Boston, the FM reminded the gathering of the festering Kashmir dispute between India and Pakistan, and urged Washington to help resolve it in a bid to “remove one more source of Muslim discontent and anger, taking oxygen out of the terrorists’ fire”. He will co-chair with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton the strategic dialogue on bilateral cooperation in a vast array of fields, developments in the region and security issues, including efforts to deal with terrorists along the Afghan border.

“What we are trying to create is a long-term, mature and mutually beneficial partnership,” he said. “That dialogue and the coordination of our policies will define the direction and future of our bilateral relationship, as well as the success of the containment of terrorism and, quite possibly, the very future of the region,” Qureshi said as he pressed for preferential trade access for Pakistani products and understanding of its security considerations.

Turning to the impact of Pakistan and India’s lingering disputes on the region, he said, “In the plethora of problems before us, we have to realistically understand that improved relations between the two nuclear armed powers of South Asia is the missing key to regional peace.” The issues between India and Pakistan could not be wished away, he underscored in response to a question.

IHK unrest: For decades, India has tried to convince the world that unrest in Kashmir is a product of Pakistani intervention. “But over the last year, over the last bloody months and weeks, everyone, including India, now understands that the insurrection in Kashmir and AJK is a long-neglected problem that is not caused by Pakistani intervention, but Indian occupation,” he told the gathering. “Pakistan views the prevailing situation in Indian-held Kashmir with grave concern. It has resulted in deaths of more than 100 Kashmiris, including women and children. Hundreds have been injured and thousands arrested,” the FM added.

He also listed Pakistan’s achievements under the democratic government, including the effective fight against terrorists, saying the country’s security forces had cleared Swat of Taliban and launched an operation against terrorists in South Waziristan. “We will fight together with you for our common goals and ends, especially in our joint effort to destroy the terrorist cancer that threatens all of civilisation. But we are, first and foremost, like every nation, committed to preserving our national interest.”