ISLAMABAD Pakistan News: Welcoming the US declarations of support to Pakistan's security and stability and economic development, President Asif Ali Zardari emphasized that the continued support must be based on mutual respect and trust.
The President was talking to US National Security Advisor General James Jones, who called on him here in the Presidency on Thursday. General James Jones was accompanied with the US Ambassador Anne W. Patterson and other senior US officials.
Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin, Chief of Army Staff General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir and Pakistan's Ambassador in the US Hussain Haqqani were also present in the meeting.
Spokesperson to the President former Senator Farhatullah Babar said that security situation in the region, drone attacks, fight against militancy, rehabilitation of the internally displaced persons, strengthening of the law enforcing agencies, coalition support funds arrears, the new US screening procedures and Pakistan's energy needs were discussed in the meeting.
Tracing the history of militancy in the region, the President said that decades ago the international community chose to fight the rival ideology using the region as battleground. After defeating the rival ideology the international community abandoned the region and the militants it had nurtured resulting in a new wave of militancy in the region, the President remarked.
He said that the dynamics of the situation led Pakistan to become a security driven state neglecting social and human uplift. The international community now owed it to Pakistan and to itself to help rebuild the country economically and socially, he said.
Farhatullah Babar said that the President emphasized the need for democratic stability in Pakistan which he said could be ensured by pursuing a well structured economic development agenda in which the international community had a great role to play.
In this context the President reiterated the call for allowing greater market access to Pakistani goods in the U.S. and European markets and the need for early adoption of legislation in the US on Reconstruction Opportunity Zones (RoZs).
The President said that Pakistan had suffered a huge loss of over 35 billion dollars during the last eight years as a result of the fight against militancy in addition to the colossal and unquantifiable cost in terms of social and human losses which had almost crippled the nation's economy.
He said that it was important that the pledges made at the Friends of Democratic Pakistan forum were fulfilled. Indeed Pakistan needed a Marshal Plan to overcome its economic problems compounded by the fight against militancy, the President said.
The President also pointed out the delays in payments of arrears of Coalition Support Fund of over 1.5 billion dollars and called for early repayments of outstanding dues.
The President also expressed reservations over the new screening regime for Pakistani nationals and called for its review as it had created resentment in the country and led to doubts and misgivings among the people of Pakistan.
About the drone attacks on Pakistani territory, the President said that it undermined the national consensus against the war on militancy and reiterated Pakistan's call for transfer of drone technology to it for use by its own security forces against the militants for wider public acceptability.
Referring to the new Afghan strategy the President said that Pakistan has legitimate interests in promoting peace and stability in Afghanistan.
The US National Security advisor appreciated Pakistan's role in the war against extremism and militancy and assured continued strategic political and economic support to Pakistan to win this war.
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