ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari on Saturday said concerted efforts needed to be undertaken to take militants to task and neutralise ambitions of these stateless actors.
Talking to ambassadors of some FoDP countries over dinner at the presidency, Zardari welcomed the Summit-level dialogues with the European Union, saying Pakistan desired to have a comprehensive partnership with the EU and the interaction should be on a regular basis. He said there was a dire need to institutionalise the interaction.
“Pakistan looks forward to a comprehensive free trade agreement with the European Union and a solid, multidimensional and comprehensive partnership with the international community and just not the donor-recipient relationship,” he said. The president said the war against terror and recent floods have created a situation that needed to be addressed through joint efforts.
“Hardly had our economy started showing signs of recovery when it was hit hard by the recent calamity. This is a situation that no country could handle on its own without proactive assistance from the international community,” he added. Discussing the flood situation and rehabilitation and reconstruction efforts, the president said the government was mobilising all available domestic resources, including the imposition of a one-time flood tax on the rich to increase indigenous resources.
He said the Sindh government was already working on legislation for the one-time flood tax in consultation with coalition partners and all stakeholders. Zardari said Pakistan looked forward to continued assistance of the international community, especially the European Union. He thanked the United Nations and the friends of the country who pleaded its case and drew the attention of the international community towards countless miseries of the people of Pakistan.
The ambassadors present who attended the dinner included Daniel Jouanneau of France, Ali Saif Sultan Al Awani of UAE, Chihiro Atsumi of Japan, Mustafa Babur Hizlan of Turkey, Adam Thomson of the United Kingdom and Choi Choong-Joo of South Korea. Ambassador Robin Raphel, coordinator for E&D Assistance USA and Engin Soysal, UNSGR, were also present.
