ISLAMABAD:
President Asif Ali Zardari has ruled out the possibility of serious street protests in Pakistan like those in Middle Eastern countries, saying Pakistan already has a democratic political system.
“I don’t think such political unrest can reach Pakistan, as it is a different country that has a strong parliament and a stable democracy,” the president said in an interview with Al-Arabiya news channel, which is based in Dubai.
Zardari said that reconciliation was the best way to resolve issues. “I think confrontation is not the answer, reconciliation is the answer. We feel concerned, we support the system as it is and we want to help, if we can,” he said.
He said that the situation was a regional issue, not an international one. International issues, he noted, took a very long time to settle.
Drones
To a question about the American drone attacks in Pakistan, the president said his government was negotiating with the US government for drone technology so Pakistan could use the drones on its own.
About military operations in North Waziristan, the president said Pakistani troops were already there, protecting Pakistani territory and engaging with militants as much as possible.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 26th, 2011.
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