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.
In a speech to international students and faculty members at the University of District of Columbia, Haqqani 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 US 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.
“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.
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 Pak-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.
Turning to Pakistan-India relations and the recent Mumbai incident, the ambassador said the important thing to remember is that Pakistan is a victim of terrorism as well as India.
“We need to put the burden of history behind us, work together and make sure that both of us get rid of this terrorist menace that afflicts both of our countries. Unfortunately, in the rage that has followed the Mumbai terrorist incident, there have been people in India who have been calling for war. But we would like for both governments to work together.”
Haqqani said both the South Asian countries need to move forward to have better relations for prosperity of their respective nations.
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