Foreign Minister Hina Ranbbani Khar has said Pakistan still seeks apology from Washington for killing 26 Pakistani soldiers while clearing that it does not want permanent blockade of NATO supply.
In an exclusive interview to a private news channel here, the Foreign Minister said Pakistan’s sovereignty should be respected. The public reaction comes when sovereignty of the country is violated, Hina said.
She said that Pakistan’s Parliament has urged better relations with the world community and it has reviewed relations with the US and ISAF.
The foreign minister said that Pakistan is still under pressure regarding restoration of NATO supply.
“We want to tell the world that Pakistan is also a coalition partner to ensure peace in Afghanistan which is also in the better interest of the region,” she added.
Rejecting the criticism over President Zardari’s participation in Chicago Conference, Hina Rabbani Khar said those criticizing the President want to drag the country into backwardness.
The foreign minister further said that restoration of NATO supply is not the issue only between Pakistan and the US but it is a matter of relations with sixty countries.
Pakistan’s stance cannot be well understood if it is kept at distance from the world community, she concluded.
Meanwhile, Pakistan People’s Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has also called for a US apology over cross border attack in Salala. Speaking at a ceremony he raised voice against US drone attacks, saying the strikes were a violation of Pakistan’s sovereignty.
He said that questions were being raised on Pak-US friendship following the bilateral operation in Abbottabad. Bhutto said that Pak-US relations are passing through a critical phase. The PPP chairman said that Pakistan is determined to eliminate terrorism. He said that his mother Benazir Bhutto struggled for the uplift of woman and strengthened democracy.
US should apologize: Hina
