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Zardari asks US to mediate over Kashmir issue | In an apparent bid to drag the United States into the long pending Kashmir issue, Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari
has said that Washington should step in to mediate and help resolve the core issue between India and Pakistan. In his article in the New York Times, Zardari, while
welcoming America's 7.5 billion dollar pledge over the next five years for non-military
projects in Pakistan, said that the Obama administration should compliment its
long-term objectives through some short-term strategies, which would reflect Washington's
'neutrality'. "This long-term commitment must be complemented by short-term policies
that demonstrate American neutrality and willingness to help India and Pakistan
overcome their mutual distrust. It could start by stepping up its efforts to mediate
the Kashmir dispute," Zardari said. Zardari underlined that there is a massive
anti-America feeling prevailing in Pakistan , which stems from regional issues,
particularly policies concerning India . "I know it is the conventional wisdom
in Washington that my nation is obsessed with India . But even to those of us
who are striving toward accommodation and peace, the long history and the unresolved
situation in Kashmir give Pakistanis reason to be concerned about our neighbour
to the east," Zardari said. " Just as the Israeli-Palestinian dispute cannot be
resolved without accommodating the Palestinian people, there cannot be permanent
regional peace in South Asia without addressing Kashmir ," he added. Terming his
country's media as 'hyperactive', the President stressed that any doubts in the
US regarding Pakistan 's civilian regime were uncalled for. " Pakistan 's democratically
elected government is unambiguously on the right path toward establishing a moderate
and modern nation," Zardari said. While dispelling the notion about having differences
with Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, he said the country's leadership is united
and working closely with Parliament and the Army towards the prime objective of
defeating the Taliban and Al-Qaeda backed campaign of terrorism. "Our Constitution
was distorted and perverted by military dictators who usurped the legal powers
of Parliament. In accordance with the manifesto of the Pakistan Peoples Party,
I am working toward strengthening the separation of powers of the presidency from
those of the prime minister," Zardari said. Referring to his recent decision to
hand over the 'nuclear button' Gilani, Zardari said the decision was his own and
rejected reports that he was being pressurised to do so. "Recently, I voluntarily
handed back the chairmanship of the National Command Authority that exercises
control over Pakistan 's nuclear arsenal. Contrary to some of the commentary on
the subject, this is not a sign of weakness, but rather a demonstration of the
vitality of Pakistani democracy," he said. |
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