It will be inappropriate to be expected of Pakistan to fight the war against terrorism alone, President Asif Ali Zardari said on Friday.
In an interview with the Chinese media during his visit to Beijing to attend Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit, the president said terrorism was a common problem for the entire world and Islamabad was making all efforts against the menace, adding that China had extended every-possible assistance in the fight. He said Pakistan and China enjoyed brotherly relations and they needed to eliminate hurdles emerging owing to different languages. The president said the SCO would have a key role to play in regional development in the future, adding that Pakistan had applied for permanent membership of the organisation.
He said resolution of regional conflicts was linked to the SCO. Zardari said increased economic activity within the SCO would help member countries overcome their economic weaknesses. “Countries within the SCO can benefit from each other’s strengths and make up for each others’ weaknesses,” he said. According to data from the Ministry of Commerce, the total trade volume of the SCO member states had reached $4.65 trillion in 2011.
“Another advantage of the SCO is its capacity to enable countries within the bloc to address shared disadvantages,” Zardari said. The president said he believed people-to-people exchanges among SCO member states, observers and dialogue partners were bound to increase in the next decade. Later, President Zardari left for Pakistan and was seen off by Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Zhang Zhijun, Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan Liu Jian, Ambassador Masood Khan and senior officials at Beijing Capital International Airport.
‘Pakistan can’t fight war on terror alone’
