Foreign Minister Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri said on Wednesday that Pakistan was doing enough to counter terrorism and had lost 700 soldiers while playing its role in the "war on terror," and complained that the Western media was not portraying Pakistan's role or sacrifices fairly.In an interview on BBC's 'Hard Talk' programme, Kasuri said: "I completely and emphatically reject that Pakistan has 'safe heavens' for Al Qaeda." Pakistan is facing problems but these problems have to be viewed in the right context. "The problem we have in the tribal areas goes back to its origin in the 80s when the West glorified jihad. We are reaping the consequences of that."
"We should see what happened to the intelligence estimates regarding the presence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq," said Kasuri, adding that The Washington Post itself had said those estimates were doctored. The situation in Afghanistan deteriorated after the West shifted its focus from Afghanistan to Iraq, the minister said. It is inappropriate to hold Pakistan responsible for the poor law and order situation in Afghanistan. He said those who make such allegations are not taking account of the actual situation on the ground.
Kasuri said statements such as the one calling for attacks on Mecca and Medina had immense potential to damage Pak-US relations and he asked the US leadership to be careful in this regard. "We value our relations with the US but our people think the US dictates terms to us, but we will not take any dictation." He said he faced tremendous difficulty in wrapping up the debate as a foreign minister on this issue in the National Assembly.
Responding to a question, the minister said no foreign elements could warn President Musharraf. "It's totally rubbish that the US secretary of state warned him against imposing emergency."
Kasuri said a false impression has been created that the events of the last few months with reference to the chief justice case had made the Supreme Court hostile to the government. "I don't think that is the case at all. We are happy that the judiciary is independent, as is the press, and I don't see why it should be considered that two pillars of the state?the executive and the judiciary?should be considered hostile to each other."