Pakistan And US Are Partners For Controll Over Terrorism: Haqqani

WASHINGTON: Pakistan and the United States will have to work together as sovereign partners to confront terrorism militarily, politically and through economic means, the country’s ambassador in Washington Husain Haqqani underlined here Thursday.

In a speech to international students and faculty members at the University of District of Columbia, the envoy also urged world support for Pakistan’s economic development and asked the incoming Barack Obama Administration to facilitate greater access for Pakistan’s textile products in the U.S. market.

He said the United States cannot solve problems without the world support and that the optimism created in the international community with the election of President-elect Barack Obama and Joe Biden needs to be reflected in the future US policies.

“President-elect Obama has selected a very experienced team and Pakistan is looking forward to working with the new administration,” he stated.

Pakistan is the second largest Muslim country in the world. It is a nuclear power and its strategic location is such that it can provide a link for the world with the Middle East, Central and West Asia and South Asia, he told the gathering.

He emphasized that Pakistan is undergoing a transition from dictatorship to democracy.
“Pakistan continues to pay the price: the legacy of dictatorship, the fatigue of fanaticism, the dismemberment of civil society and the destruction of our democratic infrastructure,” he said.

Poverty, he pointed out, continues to fuel extremism and has created a culture of grievance and victimhood.

The challenge of confronting terrorists who have a vast support network is huge; Pakistan’s fledgling democracy needs help from the rest of the world, he stated.

Ambassador Haqqani said the international community and the US can help Pakistan economically to meet its enormous challenges.

“We are one of the largest producers of cotton and yet we are not able to freely export our textiles to the United States as market access remains limited. It is important that the new administration expand market access for textile exports from Pakistan as allowing greater market access to Pakistani products will be very important for future Pakistan-US relations.”

On terrorism, the ambassador said Pakistan has been a victim of the menace. It has gone through more terrorist attacks now than seven years ago.

“It is getting the blowback effect from civilian casualties in the tribal areas.”

“Pakistan’s sovereignty must be respected by its allies,” he underscored, and added “avoiding civilian casualties in war is a great challenge.”

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