Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani made it clear to US Ambassador Cameron Munter on Friday that Pakistan’s “red lines” should be respected and the US must ensure respect for national sovereignty and territorial integrity of the country with a guarantee that transgression of Pakistan’s frontiers would not occur in future.
In his meeting with the US ambassador, who called on him here at Prime Minister’s House, Gilani said Pakistan wanted to work with the US to defeat the common enemy, which he said was not only the enemy of Pakistan and the US but also of the entire civilised world.
He said it was his primary responsibility to safeguard Pakistan’s dignity and honour, adding that respect for sovereignty and an end to unilateral action were the very minimum that Pakistan expected. He said further that credit went to the democratic government for the ownership the nation had assumed regarding the war on terror and parliament was also fully behind the government in this regard. “No war can be fought without the support of the people,” he added.
The prime minister reiterated the stance of Pakistan, stating that an independent, prosperous and stable Afghanistan was in Pakistan’s interests. “We will support the process of reconciliation in Afghanistan which is Afghan-led and Afghan-owned and does not destabilise Pakistan,” he stated. The US ambassador emphasised that both Pakistan and the US should fully cooperate to fight the menace of terrorism. He said the common enemy must be defeated for which both countries needed to focus and cooperate with each other with commitment and single-mindedness. The convergence of interests between the two countries against the enemy provided the realistic basis and common ground to continue to collaborate and save the world from the curse of extremism and terrorism, he added.
Respect us, Gilani tells US
