Pakistan's Foreign Minister Makhdoom Shah Mahmood Qureshi is currently in Cairo to co-chair a Pakistani-Egyptian ministerial commission with his Egyptian counterpart. The two countries share close relations based on common bonds of religion, culture and commonality of interests. During his two-day visit, Qureshi will confer with senior Egyptian officials, notably President Hosni Mubarak; Ahmed Fathi Sorour, the Speaker of the People's Assembly (the Lower House of the Egyptian Parliament); and Rashid Mohamed Rashid, the Minister of Trade and Industry; as well as Chief of the Cairo-based Arab League, Amr Moussa. The Egyptian Gazette has caught up with the Pakistani official for an interview on a host of issues ranging from his country's war against terror, to relations with the US, India and Egypt. The Gazette: How successful are the anti-terror war efforts of your government? Answer: A significant achievement of our democratic government has been to build domestic consensus and people's ownership of the ongoing struggle against terrorism. Coupled with this is the unparalleled success of our security forces against the terrorism in FATA and Swat. The success of operation “Rah-e-Rast” in Swat was a testimony to this effect. Terrorists were completely wiped out. However, we did not stop there and in October 2009, the government extended the law enforcement operation against terrorists to South Waziristan region. Fortunately, with the support of local population, our security forces have succeeded in enforcing the writ of the government in the entire South Waziristan agency as well. The Gazette: What makes this war different from the anti-terror war was waged by the US? And how far is the disagreement between Pakistan and the US in this regard? Answer: Pakistan values its partnership with the US, built on a foundation of mutual interest, respect and trust. Pakistan and the US share the same strategic objectives; (a) peaceful and stable Afghanistan and (b) combating terrorism and violent extremism. Both Pakistan and the US have achieved significant successes in breaking the back of al-Qaeda and the Taliban. Having said that, we expect the US to remain sensitive to our core national interests and concerns. We also believe that international military presence in Afghanistan should be coupled with political and developmental commitment. Terrorism thrives on political and economic deprivation and ignorance. Socio-economic amelioration of the people is necessary to wean people away from obscurantist tendencies. The Gazette: Does Pakistan feel its role in fighting terrorism is fully understood and appreciated by the Obama administration? Answer: No other nation has suffered more or sacrificed more than Pakistan in the struggle against terrorism. We have suffered more casualties than the coalition on Afghanistan. We believe that our counter-terrorism efforts must be acknowledged by the international community at all forums. US has a special role to play in this regard. The Gazette: How do you evaluate Pakistan's relations and talks with India? And does Pakistan believe that India is serious about conducting “fruitful” negotiations? Answer: Pakistan wishes to have friendly, co-operative and good neighbourly relations with India. We would like to continue to work with India to resolve all outstanding issues between our two countries, peacefully and in a just manner. The prime ministers of Pakistan and India met late last April in Thimpu on the sidelines of 16th SAARC Summit. Both sides agreed that foreign ministers and foreign secretaries of both countries would meet as soon as possible to work out modalities for restoration of trust and resumption dialogue between the two countries. As part of the understanding reached at Thimpu, I called the Indian EAM on May 11. We agreed that EAM Krishna would visit Pakistan for a foreign minister-level meeting, which will be held on July 15. It was also agreed that the Indian foreign secretary would visit Pakistan next June to lay the ground work for the July meeting of the two foreign ministers. Pakistan believes that resumption of the dialogue process is vital to start building trust and confidence. A process of meaningful and serious engagement across the board can lead to resolution of all differences and disputes between Pakistan and India. The Gazette: How do you rate the Pakistani-Egyptian relations? How do you think these relations can be enhanced? Do you have specific ideas to discuss during your talks in Egypt? Answer: Pakistan greatly values its relationship with Egypt, which is characterised by cordiality, friendship and mutual co-operation. Co-operation between the two countries is expanding and growing, particularly in trade and investment sectors. The Third Session of the Joint Ministerial Commission is taking place in Cairo on May 22-23. The JMC would identify areas for further enhancing co-operation in multiple sectors. Given the mutual understanding and existing goodwill, there is great potential between the two countries for further enhancing bilateral co-operation in the economic, commercial, cultural, agricultural and other sectors. Both sides are keen to realise this potential. During my visit here, we would discuss some specific proposals for promotion of bilateral co-operation, which include identification of new items for bilateral trade, diversification of bilateral investments and setting up of ad-hoc working groups on investment and agriculture.
