Pakistan: ‘Won’t accept foreign pressure on national interests’

Rejecting any foreign pressure on the bilateral cooperation between Pakistan and Iran including on energy sector, Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani on Thursday said Pakistan being a sovereign state would do whatever was in its own interest.
“We are a sovereign country and we will do whatever is in the interest of Pakistan,” Gilani said while responding to a question during “Prime Minister Online” programme, jointly hosted by PTV and Waqt News. He said Pakistan and Iran had bilateral relations and cooperation in diverse fields including energy, gas pipeline, and electricity.
To another question, the prime minister said there had been ups and downs in Pakistan-US relations, adding that Pakistan wanted to expand ties with the US on partnership basis as well as on mutual interest and mutual respect. He said Pakistan and the US also had a common goal of success in the war against terrorism.
However, Gilani added that the US should refrain from interfering in Pakistan’s internal affairs to allow confidence building and keep the Pakistani masses from harbouring any ill-feeling about it. Gilani also referred to the recent Pakistan-Afghan-Iran Trilateral Summit held in Islamabad and said the issue of political reconciliation in Afghanistan had been discussed in length with President Hamid Karzai. He said since there was no military solution in Afghanistan, there was a need to find a political solution. He said Pakistan, Afghanistan and the United States wanted to find a permanent solution to the Afghan conflict, adding that the solution could be sought through an Afghan-led and Afghan-owned reconciliation process.
In response to a question, Gilani rejected the impression that there was any danger to democracy or the democratic government. He said democracy was strengthening in the country and those who were talking of such dangers would be regretful. When asked about his earlier remarks that the political situation would improve after the Senate elections in March, Gilani said, “As spring sets in the month of March, everything brightens.” Democracy is prospering and has a bright future, he added.
About the memo case, the prime minister said he had been saying from the day one that the man (Ijaz Mansoor), who wrote the memo had no credibility, as he had a history of writing against Pakistan’s Establishment, intelligence agencies and the governments. To a question about the contempt of court case, Gilani said he had appeared before the Supreme Court twice and was ready to appear whenever he would be summoned by the court. He said the government had strengthened the country’s institutions by restoring the 1973 Constitution