Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz on Sunday said the Pakistan Army is capable of defending its territory and can take action against any extremist and terrorist elements and vowed that it will not allow troops from any country to attack its territory in a bid to capture terrorists. “We will never allow any country to violate our sovereignty and integrity,” said the prime minister in an interview with Al-Arabia TV channel. Baker Atyani, Bureau Chief of Al-Arabia News Channel, conducted the interview.The PM said the country’s army and law enforcement agencies are known across the world for their professional and well-equipped status and could protect their land by themselves. “We believe in intelligence-sharing, cooperation and coordination with friendly countries that are committed to fighting this scourge,” he said. He said Pakistan wants peace, security and economic growth.
Referring to the statements of US Presidential candidates concerning attacks on Pakistan and the holy sites of Muslims, the PM said Pakistan is a sovereign country with an army that was capable of defending itself. He said Pakistan had the capability to act if other nations shared any “credible, quantifiable and identifiable intelligence” with it.
The PM said Pakistan reacted to these statements strongly. He said no Muslim country would tolerate any attack on Muslim holy sites. “Pakistan and Saudi Arabia are very close strategic partners and we will never sit back if anybody tries to harm Saudi Arabia or its holy places,” he said.
Concerning the alleged meeting between President General Pervez Musharraf and Pakistan People’s Party Chairwoman Benazir Bhutto, the PM said there were “no specific deals, but only discussions”. He said discussions in the political set up are healthy for free, fair and transparent elections. He said a presidential spokesman had already issued a statement in this regard and there was nothing more to say on the issue.
He said the Pakistan Muslim League and its allied parties would contest the upcoming general elections from a single platform. “We are not going into any election alliance, with any other party except with the parties which are in our coalition — they include PML, PML (F), MQM, PPP (Sherpao) and some independent from tribal areas,” he said..
Replying to a question, the Prime Minister said Pakistan has been extending cooperation to Afghanistan for its stability, adding if Afghanistan destabilises, Pakistan pays the price for it because of trade interactions on both sides of the border.
He said Islam does not favour extremism and always projects peace, harmony and brotherhood. “Islam also teaches us that killing innocent people or any act of militancy or creating law and order problem are not the way to solve the issue,” he added. “We have to win the heart and minds of the people,” he said, adding peace is essential for growth, progress and prosperity.
He said the governmentÂ’s policy regarding the Lal Masjid operation had always been to settle the issue through negotiations. He said the government had been forced to take action because its writ had been challenged.
He said the reaction to the operation had not been “alarming”, adding the incidents in the tribal areas were related to their proximity to Afghanistan. He said the government was not against madrassas. “We encourage religious education. Every faith in the world has seminaries, so why not Islam...But if the seminaries are used to disturb peace, no government can accept that in the world,” he stated.
Concerning the general elections, the PM said a caretaker set up would run the government and conduct free and fair elections after the completion of the tenure of the present assemblies.
He said all parties would be given “free hand” in the general elections. The PML and its allied parties have a “comfortable majority” to win the elections, he added.
He said the major elections would those of President General Pervez Musharraf, which had to be conducted from September 15 to October 15 of 2007. He said, “We are very hopeful, President Musharraf will be contesting in these elections and will be successful.”
Concerning Pak-US relations, he said, they are driven by the national interests of both countries and there is nothing like “love and hate” in these relations. He said both countries have commonality of views on many issues.
Concerning IranÂ’s nuclear issue, he said Pakistan has very clear view on this issue and Iran should not produce a nuclear weapon, as it was a signatory to the Non-Proliferation Treaty. However, he added Iran should have the right to peaceful use of nuclear technology under IAEA standards. He said Pakistan is against the use of force against Iran to resolve this issue and always advocated that this should be resolved through peaceful means.
Regarding Palestine, the PM said all stakeholders should work together to bring peace and harmony in the region, adding that Pakistan always supported the just cause of the Palestinians.
He said the Supreme Court decision on the reference against the chief justice had been accepted by the government. “We stand by the judgement and have given respect and honour to it,” he added.