- CHICAGO (PNS) -- Pakistani
President Pervez Musharraf Tuesday promised no first strikes against India
during a speech to the Chicago Council on Foreign Relations. "I have
no hesitation in giving a commitment to this August gathering that while
assuring for itself the strongest possible defense against aggression,
Pakistan shall not initiate a war with India," Musharraf said during
a luncheon at the Chicago Hilton and Towers, according to the Chicago Tribune.
-
- "The key to the normalization of relations between
Pakistan and India is progress towards a resolution of the core issue of
Kashmir," Musharraf said, adding Pakistan remains ready for dialogue
with its neighbor.
-
- Musharraf, who came into power after a military coup
in 1999, spoke to the gathering of 900 Chicago-area business leaders and
local Pakistani Americans. He is in town on a two-day trip, primarily visiting
his younger brother, an Oak Brook physician.
-
- Since the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on New York
and Washington, D.C., and subsequent American intervention in Afghanistan,
Musharraf has aligned his government with the United States despite criticism
and protests from religious hard liners in Pakistan. That action also meant
breaking off ties with the Taliban, a group his country once helped bring
into power in Afghanistan.
-
- In Chicago today, Musharraf urged the international community
to start implementing the $4.5 billion Tokyo Reconstruction Plan for Afghanistan.
Much of the money pledged last January by various nations for the shattered
country has yet to materialize. The Pakistani leader also called for an
expansion of international peacekeeping forces beyond the Afghan capital
of Kabul.
-
- Meanwhile, Pakistan continues to seek out al Qaeda and
crack down on extremists, Musharraf said.
-
- Musharraf spoke and answered questions for nearly 11/2
hours.
-
- Meanwhile, President General Pervez Musharraf Wednesday
attended a reception hosted by New York Times Editorial.
-
- He was received by Pakistan's permanent ambassador Munir
Akram in the UN at the airport as he flew to New York.
-
- He later had a meeting with Japanese Premier Jumchiro
Koizumi at UN Headquarters. The President also had a meeting with Demark
Prime Minister Anders Fogh at the same venue.
-
- Musharraf also met Bulgarian President Georgi Parvanov
and in ended the day with commemorative ceremonies regarding September
11 attacks.
-
- http://www.paknews.com/top.php?id=1&date1=2002-09-12
|
