Zardari stresses Pak-UK cooperation against terrorism

[Lahore_Real_Estate]

* Emphasises need to further strengthen institutional contacts, strategic and cooperative ties

ISLAMABAD: The shared threat posed by militancy and a common stance to neutralise this threat calls for greater cooperation between the UK and Pakistan, President Asif Ali Zardari said on Thursday.

The president was talking to a delegation of the UK House of Commons’ Foreign Affairs Committee that had called on him at the Presidency. Bilateral relations, strategic dialogue, fight against militancy, regional situation, rehabilitation and reconstruction of flood victims, trade access to the EU for Pakistan’s goods, and other issues of mutual interest were discussed during the meeting.

Zardari appreciated the British government’s continued support for the democratic dispensation in Pakistan in overcoming the challenges it is faced with. Highlighting the commonality of interests and the shared objectives, he emphasised upon the need to further strengthen institutional contacts and strategic and cooperative ties between the two countries.

He said Pakistan has been the worst victim of the scourge of militancy, which was not confined to a single country alone. He said Pakistan’s needs for capacity enhancement to effectively deal with the threat of terrorism must be accorded priority by the international community and its friends.

Access: Zardari, while appreciating valuable assistance from the UK during the recent floods, said the people and government of Pakistan appreciated assistance from the international community, especially from friends, in this hour of need. He also thanked the British government and the British prime minister for advocating Pakistan’s case for getting access to the EU markets, saying it would go a long way in providing much needed support to the war-ravaged and flood-stricken economy of the country.