Defending the reopening: US respecting new terms, insists PM
Premier Ashraf says NATO routes reopened in ‘national interest’.
ISLAMABAD:
Amidst criticism from different political quarters, Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf has come out to explain the ‘pragmatic’ reasons for resuming the ground lines of communication for Nato forces after a seven-month blockade.
On Thursday, the premier claimed that the decision to reopen Nato supply routes into Afghanistan through Pakistani territory was taken in the “best national interest” and guided by the recommendations forwarded by parliament.
He contended: “Prolonged deadlock over the issue of Nato supplies could have hurt the country’s relations with other Nato countries, which include our allies as well as other Muslim countries such as Turkey, Qatar and the UAE”.
Asserting that his government would never compromise on Pakistan’s national security, he said: “At the same time, Pakistan cannot ignore its leading role as a partner of the international community and a frontline state against the forces of terrorism.”
Referring to the drawdown of the Nato/Isaf forces due to be completed in 2014, Prime Minister Ashraf held that Pakistan wanted to facilitate the transition process in the best interest of regional stability, as a peaceful Afghanistan was closely linked to peace in Pakistan.
He was talking to Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) president Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain and Deputy Prime Minister Chaudhry Pervez Elahi while discussing a range of issues including Pakistan’s latest decision to reopen the vital land routes.
Prime Minister Ashraf assured that incidents like the Salala incursion, which killed 24 soldiers, would not be repeated.
He also gave credit to European Union countries who are a part of Nato for the passage of legislation from the European parliament which would enhance market access for Pakistani exports from 2014 onwards under the Generalised System of Preference (Plus).
PM Ashraf said that reopening of the Nato supply through his country “is a goodwill gesture to that friendly community (EU)”.
Lauding the efforts of the Parliamentary committee on National Security (PCNS), the prime minister said that it was for the first time in the country’s history that a bipartisan parliamentary consensus was reached on the broad contours of foreign policy.
While expressing gratitude to the PML-Q for their all out support to the government, he reiterated the fact that that “Pakistan has made it clear to United States that its red-lines should be respected” and added that the new terms of engagement approved by parliament were visibly being respected by the US and Nato countries.
In response, PML-Q’s leadership told Ashraf that their party supported the decision to open Nato lines, adding that no country could afford “international diplomatic isolation”.
Elaborating on the pragmatism of the decision, PML-Q chief Hussain stated that the presence of US, Nato and Isaf forces in Afghanistan represented about 50 countries of the world under the UN mandate, including “brotherly Islamic countries”. He contended that a “diplomatic stalemate” over the issue could have created problems for Pakistan at the United Nations forum as well.
Supporting the government and criticising the reaction of the opposition and some other political parties, Hussain said that foreign policy decisions needed to be taken in a “dispassionate and cool-headed” manner and cannot to be left at the mercy of emotions or irrational behaviour.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 6th, 2012.
Amidst criticism from different political quarters, Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf has come out to explain the ‘pragmatic’ reasons for resuming the ground lines of communication for Nato forces after a seven-month blockade.
On Thursday, the premier claimed that the decision to reopen Nato supply routes into Afghanistan through Pakistani territory was taken in the “best national interest” and guided by the recommendations forwarded by parliament.
He contended: “Prolonged deadlock over the issue of Nato supplies could have hurt the country’s relations with other Nato countries, which include our allies as well as other Muslim countries such as Turkey, Qatar and the UAE”.
Asserting that his government would never compromise on Pakistan’s national security, he said: “At the same time, Pakistan cannot ignore its leading role as a partner of the international community and a frontline state against the forces of terrorism.”
Referring to the drawdown of the Nato/Isaf forces due to be completed in 2014, Prime Minister Ashraf held that Pakistan wanted to facilitate the transition process in the best interest of regional stability, as a peaceful Afghanistan was closely linked to peace in Pakistan.
He was talking to Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) president Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain and Deputy Prime Minister Chaudhry Pervez Elahi while discussing a range of issues including Pakistan’s latest decision to reopen the vital land routes.
Prime Minister Ashraf assured that incidents like the Salala incursion, which killed 24 soldiers, would not be repeated.
He also gave credit to European Union countries who are a part of Nato for the passage of legislation from the European parliament which would enhance market access for Pakistani exports from 2014 onwards under the Generalised System of Preference (Plus).
PM Ashraf said that reopening of the Nato supply through his country “is a goodwill gesture to that friendly community (EU)”.
Lauding the efforts of the Parliamentary committee on National Security (PCNS), the prime minister said that it was for the first time in the country’s history that a bipartisan parliamentary consensus was reached on the broad contours of foreign policy.
While expressing gratitude to the PML-Q for their all out support to the government, he reiterated the fact that that “Pakistan has made it clear to United States that its red-lines should be respected” and added that the new terms of engagement approved by parliament were visibly being respected by the US and Nato countries.
In response, PML-Q’s leadership told Ashraf that their party supported the decision to open Nato lines, adding that no country could afford “international diplomatic isolation”.
Elaborating on the pragmatism of the decision, PML-Q chief Hussain stated that the presence of US, Nato and Isaf forces in Afghanistan represented about 50 countries of the world under the UN mandate, including “brotherly Islamic countries”. He contended that a “diplomatic stalemate” over the issue could have created problems for Pakistan at the United Nations forum as well.
Supporting the government and criticising the reaction of the opposition and some other political parties, Hussain said that foreign policy decisions needed to be taken in a “dispassionate and cool-headed” manner and cannot to be left at the mercy of emotions or irrational behaviour.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 6th, 2012.