President Zardari proposes ad-hoc working group for NAM

Radio Pakistan

Addressing the NAM summit in Tehran‚ the President has proposed the establishment of an Ad-hoc Working Group to forge a common vision to identify new challenges and the role of NAM in the 21st Century.President Asif Ali Zardari has proposed the establishment of an Ad Hoc Working Group to forge a common vision of new challenges and the role of NAM in the 21st Century.

Addressing the 16th Non Aligned Summit in Teheran on Friday‚ he said the NAM Chair‚ in consultation with other members of Troika‚ may chart out a strategy for this purpose. The President said Pakistan would be happy to actively contribute towards the strengthening of the Movement. He said solutions to complex problems must be based on dialogue and consensus. He said the more we cooperate the more the space for unilateral action is reduced. He said Pakistan is a peace loving country and seeks a peaceful‚ stable and prosperous neighborhood. He said we seek it through enhanced economic cooperation and peaceful resolution of outstanding disputes. The President said Pakistan is engaged in a comprehensive dialogue with India. We look forward to finding peaceful solutions to all outstanding issues‚ including Jammu and Kashmir. He said destinies of Pakistan and Afghanistan are interconnected and both have suffered from prolonged conflict in Afghanistan for the past three decades. He said Pakistan is fully committed to promoting durable peace and stability in Afghanistan. It will continue to support an Afghan-led and Afghan-owned reconciliation process in Afghanistan. The President said Pakistan hopes the international community‚ while planning withdrawal from Afghanistan‚ would also take into account repatriation of Afghan refugees to their homeland. He said Pakistan is deeply concerned on the continued bloodshed in Syria. Death and destruction in Syria must stop immediately. Democratic aspirations of the Syrian people must be respected. He said Pakistan fully supports the right to self-determination of the Palestinian people. The establishment of an independent and viable Palestinian state is critical to peace. About terrorism‚ the President said it is a global threat but no country has suffered so much from it as Pakistan.President Zardari also mentioned the close relationship Pakistan enjoys with the African states and appreciated the role of the leaders in meeting the challenges. He said Pakistan continued to support the UN peace efforts by contributing to the peace-keeping programmes.