Ruling out an Indo-Pak war in the aftermath of the Mumbai attacks, Pakistan has said it is willing to cooperate with India fully in fighting terrorism, a scourge affecting both the countries.
"There is need for joint efforts by both Pakistan and India to fight terrorism and we are willing to cooperate with India fully in this regard," Pakistan Prime Minister's Advisor on interior affairs Rehman Malik said at a joint press conference with the MQM Chief Altaf Hussein at the party's international secretariat in London Sunday night. Both Malik and Altaf Hussein ruled out any war between Pakistan and India. "People of both the countries want to live in peace and harmony," Malik said.
Malik, who arrived here last evening on a brief visit, said terrorism was damaging to both Pakistan and India. He expressed confidence that the present democratically elected government would be able to drive the country out of its present difficulties.
Answering questions, Malik said all the political parties in Pakistan were united in the fight against terrorism and extremism. He said the coalition government of PML-N and PPP in Punjab is functioning normally although odd problems do crop up which is common in any coalition set-up. Ruling out any threat to democracy in Pakistan, Malik said the other political parties were also endeavouring for the solidarity and prosperity of the country. Answering a query, Altaf Hussein said there was complete and full-fledged democracy in Pakistan and any attempts to cripple or damage it would be unacceptable. Noting that the country was passing through a delicate period, the London-based MQM chief attributed the fragility of democracy to long periods of dictatorship which he said did not allow democracy to flourish.
{{/usCountry}}Answering questions, Malik said all the political parties in Pakistan were united in the fight against terrorism and extremism. He said the coalition government of PML-N and PPP in Punjab is functioning normally although odd problems do crop up which is common in any coalition set-up. Ruling out any threat to democracy in Pakistan, Malik said the other political parties were also endeavouring for the solidarity and prosperity of the country. Answering a query, Altaf Hussein said there was complete and full-fledged democracy in Pakistan and any attempts to cripple or damage it would be unacceptable. Noting that the country was passing through a delicate period, the London-based MQM chief attributed the fragility of democracy to long periods of dictatorship which he said did not allow democracy to flourish.
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