Attack on Iran will spell disaster: Pakistan
Khar says Islamabad would pursue the TAPI pipeline after the Iran project.
MULTAN:
A day after a veiled threat from US President Barack Obama to Iran over its nuclear programme, Pakistan warned that aggression against the Islamic Republic would have ‘disastrous consequences’ for the whole region.
President Obama assured the powerful pro-Israel lobby in the United States on Sunday that Washington would use force against Iran, if necessary to stop the country from acquiring nuclear bomb.
Speaking to journalists at Multan airport on Monday, Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar said that Pakistan would not support any military intervention in the region. “This region cannot afford further aggressions,” she added.
Khar also brushed aside US pressure for scrapping the proposed gas pipeline with Iran and said that Islamabad would go ahead with the project.
Last week, US Secretary of State Hillary issued a tough warning to Pakistan saying that the project could invoke US sanctions.
“The proposed Pakistan-Iran pipeline, if built, could raise serious concerns under the Iran Sanctions Act. We have made that absolutely clear. We have raised this issue with the government of Pakistan,” she told a Congressional hearing.
However, her Pakistani counterpart rejected the US opposition saying that the project offered a quick solution to Pakistan’s deepening energy crisis. However, she added that Islamabad would also pursue the Turkmenistan-Pakistan-Afghanistan-India (TAPI) pipeline after the Iran project.
Speaking about relations with India, Khar said that Pakistan was committed to resolving all outstanding issues with its eastern neighbour. “No issue has been put on the backburner,” she said referring to the decades-old dispute over the Himalayan region of Kashmir.
Asked about the recent visit of Afghan President Hamid Karzai, Khar dubbed it an extraordinary trip which, according to her, removed many misunderstandings between the two neighbours. “We’ve assured him (Karzai) that Pakistan will help the Afghan government in reaching out to Taliban insurgents for peace talks,” she added.
She also rejected the allegations of Western countries that Pakistan was somehow responsible for instability in Afghanistan. “They (Nato forces) must realise that we cannot afford to destabilise our own country,” she said implying that peace in Pakistan was directly linked with the Afghan stability. “It’s not in Pakistan’s interest to create problems for the foreign forces fighting terrorism in Afghanistan,” she added.
Asked about the unplugging of the Nato supply route, the foreign minister said that Parliament would make the final decision in this regard. “Our foreign policy is not made by an individual – Parliament will approve new terms of engagement with the United States,” she added.
Khar reiterated that Pakistan attached great importance to its relations with the United States – the sole superpower of the world. “However, we cannot barter away our sovereignty in return for good relations with the US,” she added.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 6th, 2012.
A day after a veiled threat from US President Barack Obama to Iran over its nuclear programme, Pakistan warned that aggression against the Islamic Republic would have ‘disastrous consequences’ for the whole region.
President Obama assured the powerful pro-Israel lobby in the United States on Sunday that Washington would use force against Iran, if necessary to stop the country from acquiring nuclear bomb.
Speaking to journalists at Multan airport on Monday, Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar said that Pakistan would not support any military intervention in the region. “This region cannot afford further aggressions,” she added.
Khar also brushed aside US pressure for scrapping the proposed gas pipeline with Iran and said that Islamabad would go ahead with the project.
Last week, US Secretary of State Hillary issued a tough warning to Pakistan saying that the project could invoke US sanctions.
“The proposed Pakistan-Iran pipeline, if built, could raise serious concerns under the Iran Sanctions Act. We have made that absolutely clear. We have raised this issue with the government of Pakistan,” she told a Congressional hearing.
However, her Pakistani counterpart rejected the US opposition saying that the project offered a quick solution to Pakistan’s deepening energy crisis. However, she added that Islamabad would also pursue the Turkmenistan-Pakistan-Afghanistan-India (TAPI) pipeline after the Iran project.
Speaking about relations with India, Khar said that Pakistan was committed to resolving all outstanding issues with its eastern neighbour. “No issue has been put on the backburner,” she said referring to the decades-old dispute over the Himalayan region of Kashmir.
Asked about the recent visit of Afghan President Hamid Karzai, Khar dubbed it an extraordinary trip which, according to her, removed many misunderstandings between the two neighbours. “We’ve assured him (Karzai) that Pakistan will help the Afghan government in reaching out to Taliban insurgents for peace talks,” she added.
She also rejected the allegations of Western countries that Pakistan was somehow responsible for instability in Afghanistan. “They (Nato forces) must realise that we cannot afford to destabilise our own country,” she said implying that peace in Pakistan was directly linked with the Afghan stability. “It’s not in Pakistan’s interest to create problems for the foreign forces fighting terrorism in Afghanistan,” she added.
Asked about the unplugging of the Nato supply route, the foreign minister said that Parliament would make the final decision in this regard. “Our foreign policy is not made by an individual – Parliament will approve new terms of engagement with the United States,” she added.
Khar reiterated that Pakistan attached great importance to its relations with the United States – the sole superpower of the world. “However, we cannot barter away our sovereignty in return for good relations with the US,” she added.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 6th, 2012.