Acting President Farooq H Naek has said that 26/11 Nato attack on the border post in Momand Agency has made it necessary for Pakistan to do some hard thinking for taking appropriate short-term and long-term measures to safeguard its national interests as well as meet the challenges of the emerging situations.
He said that whereas Pakistan's relationship with United States constitutes an important component of its foreign policy, the changes in the international environment since 9/11 warrant constant evaluation and assessment. This he said during his meeting with Pakistan's envoys in major capitals of the world here at Aiwan-e-Sadr on Tuesday.
Ambassadors present during the interaction included among others Ambassador Abdullah Hussain Haroon, Shahid Malik, Shahid Kamal, Khalid Khattak, Masood Khan, Haroon Shaukat, Zameer Akram, Khalid Aziz Babar, Masood Khalid, Jalil Abbas Jilani, Muhammad Sadiq, Naeem Khan, Ms Tehmina Janjua, Sohail Mahmood and Nafees Zakria. Ms Hina Rabbani Khar, Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs, Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh, Federal Minister for Finance, M Salman Faruqui, Secretary General, Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir, and other senior officials were also present during the meeting.
The Acting President expressed the hope that the collective wisdom of Envoy Conference would help in policy evaluation and course correction if necessary. He said that in the present fast paced world it was necessary to correctly comprehend new challenges and evolve a comprehensive response to them. The response to the challenges, he said, should be balanced, pragmatic and based on a realistic assessment of the political, economic and military capital of the country.
He said that the rapid changes at global as well as regional level were not only shaping the regional environment but were also influencing Pakistan's domestic situation. He said that Pakistan was facing domestic and regional challenges in fields of security, stability and socio-economic development and we need to constantly evaluate the implications of the various global and regional trends for our security, stability and prosperity.
The Acting President said that Pakistan has always desired a co-operative relationship with other countries based on mutual respect and mutual benefit, non-interference and respect for territorial integrity. We need to move forward while remaining anchored in national interests, he emphasised.
The Acting President said that national sovereignty, dignity and honour were non negotiable. There cannot be any compromise on them; there will not be, he said. He said that the world was becoming extremely competitive in terms of energy, trade and water security and we need to focus on these aspects in our diplomacy. He advised the envoys to vigorously pursue the objective of solidifying Pakistan's equations with the countries of their respective postings so that each country could take maximum advantage of the existing relationship.
Discussing regional situation with the Ambassadors, the Acting President said that Afghanistan has always remained an important factor in Pakistan's foreign policy. He said that Pakistan has always desired a stable, prosperous and friendly Afghanistan as it was also crucial for our own stability. He said that Pakistan's constructive relationship with the international community, especially with our neighbours was also important for our own stability and development.
Farooq Naek also lauded the diplomats and the Foreign Office for rising to the occasion in meeting the matrix of challenges with professionalism, firmness and dignity. The Ambassadors also spoke about various issues in the prevailing international as well as regional scenarios.-PR