Obama's prediction on Pakistan not rooted in ground realities: Sartaj

PM's senior aide says Pakistan is an unstable region but is determined to defeat terrorism and bring stability

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's senior aide Sartaj Aziz on Friday shunned aside US President Barack Obama's statement that Pakistan and Afghanistan will continue to face instability and turmoil for decades.

"During his address, the US president did not single out Pakistan. He mentioned several regions, within which Pakistan and Afghanistan were also included," Aziz said. "Whatever the US president said about instability in Pakistan and Afghanistan are his predictions and have nothing to do with ground realities," he added.



"We are in an unstable region but we are determined to defeat terrorism and bring stability," the adviser told Chinese scholars, diplomats and reporters during a meeting in Islamabad.

In his final State of the Union address this week, US President Barack Obama said that instability will continue for decades in many parts of the world — in the Middle East, in Afghanistan and Pakistan, in parts of Central America, Africa and Asia.

“Our foreign policy must be focused on the threat from ISIL and al Qaeda, but it can’t stop there. For even without ISIL, instability will continue for decades in many parts of the world — in the Middle East, in Afghanistan and Pakistan, in parts of Central America, Africa and Asia,” Obama declared.



Disagreeing with Obama's address, Aziz said, "The government is taking effective steps to deal with challenges faced by the country at various levels."