Good Indo-Pak relations essential to fight militancy: Zardari
President Asif Ali Zardari said on Tuesday good neighbourly relations between Pakistan and India are essential for the welfare of the people of the two countriesand for fighting militancy.
President Asif Ali Zardari said on Tuesday good neighbourly relations between Pakistan and India are essential for the welfare of the people of the two countries
and for fighting militancy.
Zardari made the remark during a meeting here with Pakistan's High Commissioner to India Shahid Malik. The envoy called on the President to discuss matters related to bilateral ties.
Malik apprised Zardari about the status of relations between the two countries in the aftermath of the Mumbai terror attacks, said a statement from the presidency.
In a separate meeting with David Lipton, senior director for international economics in the US National Security Council, Zardari said the world community needs to appreciate Pakistan's economic problems that were created by the war against militancy and step forward to address them.
He said the international community's help is needed in this regard "to pursue the fight against militancy to its logical conclusion".
Pakistan has to rebuild its economic infrastructure damaged during the war against militancy, revive closed industrial units, rehabilitate over two million people displaced by military operations, strengthen civilian law enforcing agencies and undertake a massive programme for
increasing literacy to help combat militancy, he said.
This is "a tall order which Pakistan alone could not execute" and it needs international support, he said.