Prominent US Senator John McCain telephoned former Pakistan president Asif Ali Zardari Friday evening and discussed bilateral and international issues. Issues relating to the current situation as a result of the war of words and hype in Indian propaganda against Pakistan were also discussed.
The former president said that the hype in Indian propaganda against Pakistan was intended to hide the atrocities committed against innocent Kashmiris from the world. He said that Pakistan wants a peaceful resolution of the Kashmir issue through dialogue and in accordance with the wishes of the people of Kashmir. Dialogue is the only way forward, he said.
Zardari said that Prime Minister Modi was pandering to the far right with whose support he had come into power, adding that such policy only strengthened the non-state actors on both sides of the border.
The former president said that Pakistan itself was the victim of extremism and terrorism and will never support terrorism. The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and indeed the entire country and the nation condemned all forms of extremism and terrorism.
Two US Senators, Republican Ted Poe and Democrat Dana Rohrabacher, had moved the ‘Pakistan State Sponsor of Terrorism Designation Act’ to designate Pakistan a terrorist state in the US Congress.
However, McCain who is also the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee said that it was unlikely that the legislation would pass as the sponsors of the resolution are a small minority in the Senate. He has assured that legislation in US Senate to declare Pakistan a terror state will not be allowed to succeed.
Senator McCain also acknowledged the sacrifices made by Pakistan in the fight against terrorism.
Both the leaders agreed that Pakistan is part of the solution to this problem and it is in the interest of peace and stability that Pakistan continued to play its part in the fight against the global threat of terrorism.
