Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani has said that terrorists have no religion and faith stressing the need to fight this menace ensuring that this fight does not turn into a clash between West and Islam.
Addressing an Iftar dinner hosted by him for the envoys of Islamic countries here on Thursday, the prime minister rejected the canard of the so-called 'Islamic terrorism', saying in recent past Islam has come under increasing attacks in the Western world resulting in rising incidents of Islamophobia.
"This is mainly due to a handful of our misguided believers who, by their wrong interpretation of Islam, have made our religion the target of our detractors," he added.
Pakistan, he said, is hardest hit by terrorism and has been playing the most active role in the international campaign against this menace. "We are fighting this evil because we believe that this is in the interest of Pakistan." He said Pakistan lost Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto in this struggle but remains undeterred in its resolve to root out terrorism from our societies.
"Our message to terrorists is clear and unequivocal. We would not allow our territory to be used by terrorists and that we would not be daunted by threats of terrorism", he added. He called for a concerted action by the Muslim world for formulation of a comprehensive strategy to counter terrorism in all its forms and manifestations. It is vital to address the root causes of terrorism such as injustice, desperation, sense of humiliation and helplessness, economic and political deprivations in order to eradicate this evil completely, he added.
He said Pakistan attaches paramount importance to its relations with the Islamic world, which is the cornerstone of its foreign policy. He said Pakistan enjoys very cordial and warm relations with the entire Islamic world stretching from Morocco to Indonesia. We appreciated the support and assistance Pakistan received from the Muslim countries particularly the prompt and generous response from the brotherly countries during the earthquake of October 2005.
He said common faith and historical and cultural heritage, development experiences and shared dreams and aspirations bind Islamic countries together as one Ummah. He expressed satisfaction over ever-increasing co-operation with the Muslim world in trade, economic and cultural fields. He said thousands of Pakistani doctors, engineers and technical professionals are serving across the Muslim world.
"Our hard working expatriate community of 2.3 million in the Middle East alone is a factor which reinforces our relationship to our mutual benefit." He said Pakistan has always been in the forefront of the Muslim causes around the world. Pakistan, he added, has always called for total withdrawal of Israeli forces from the occupied Arab territories including Jerusalem; the restitution of the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people and establishment of an independent homeland with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital.