Friends of Pakistan meets in New York
Statement by the Chairmen of the Friends of Pakistan
Following is the text of a statement by the Chairmen of the Friends of Pakistan following the Friends of Pakistan Group meeting in New York on Friday, September 26, 2008:
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The Foreign Ministers of Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and Turkey, and representatives of China, the European Union and the United Nations met under the co-chairmanship of President Zardari of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and the Foreign Ministers of United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and the United States, to launch the Friends of Pakistan Group in New York on Friday, 26 September.
Those present congratulated President Zardari on his election as President and noted the significant opportunities for Pakistan under democratically-elected, civilian leadership. They made clear their determination to support the Government of Pakistan in its efforts to consolidate democracy to enable the people of Pakistan to benefit from this historic opportunity.
They expressed their outrage at acts of terrorism in Pakistan, in particular the recent attack on the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad, and made clear that the Group of Friends stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Pakistan in its fight against such terrorism.
The Group of Friends noted the formidable challenges Pakistan faces and the importance of well-co-ordinated international co-operation as the Government works to address them. They welcomed the Pakistani leadership’s focus on national development as a strategic priority and desire to promote peace and stability in both the country and the region.
With this in mind, the Friends agreed that the Group should work in strategic partnership with the Government of Pakistan and other relevant partners in the following areas:
i. Stability
The meeting recognised the significant problem of violent extremism in Pakistan and looks to Pakistan to lead the fight against this extremism, with the support of the international community. The Group committed to work with the Government of Pakistan to develop an over-arching Pakistani-led strategy and to provide technical assistance for this.
ii. Development
The meeting agreed to develop a comprehensive approach to the economic and social development of Pakistan, with a particular focus on education, health, and human development. The Group acknowledged the need for Pakistan to undertake serious economic reform and agreed to look at improved trade access for Pakistan to their markets. The Group also agreed to encourage private sector involvement in Pakistan’s development.
iii. Border Areas
The meeting noted the importance of the border areas to the overall territorial integrity of Pakistan, as well as the impact the situation there was having beyond Pakistan. The Group agreed to form a partnership with Pakistan to develop a comprehensive and co-ordinated approach to the security, development, and political needs of the border.
iv. Energy
The Group agreed to look at ways of addressing Pakistan’s energy shortfall.
v. Institution-building
The Group agreed on the importance of supporting Pakistan’s democratic institutions, including in support of economic reform, rule of law, good governance and countering extremism.
At the request of the Government of Pakistan, the Group agreed that a special representative should be appointed from a member nation or organisation to take forward the above agenda. The Group agreed to meet again at official level in Abu Dhabi within a month to determine a detailed programme of work to take forward the above agenda.
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A nice initiative…congratulations and my best wishes to Pakistan!!!
God Bless and save Pakistan and its people.I hope that the group will work hard according to their promises.
Another issue that i think is very important and needs a serious attention is to develop a good relationship with India.The effort must be taken from both sides.
However thanks to the author for writing this topic.
PAKISTAN SHOULD NOT BE GIVEN CASH MONEY FOR DEVELOPEMENT ASISTANCE BUT ALL FRIENDS OF PAKISTAN COUNTRIES SHOULD ADOPT A PROVINCE AND REGION WITHIN PROVINCE- ALMOST TEN IN NUMBERS AND MAKE A PLANE TO DEVELOP THAT REGION AS PER THE STANDARD OF INTERNATIONAL LEVEL. BULD THE INFRASTRUCTURE, CREATE INVESTMENT OPPRTUNITIES FOR BIG AND SMALL BUSINESSES. CREATE A FUND/ FORUM TO LOOK AFTER THE DEVELOPMENT DIRECTLY TO AVOID THE WASTAGE AND CORUUPTION. AND WE HOPE THE A LOT OF JOBS WILL BE CREATED BY THIS WAY AND A REAL POVERTY ERADICATION WILL BE WITNESS BY ALL OF US. OTHER WISE CASH FLOW TO ISLAMABAD WILL DO NOTHING BUT WILL MAKE FEW RICH RULERS MORE RICH TO COMPETE THE RICHEST PEOPLE IN THE WORLD. A detail of the following article of mine is to guide our real friends. All the best. —————————————————– FIVE REGIONAL CITIES OF PAKISTAN should be upgraded with in the provinces in the country. Regional cities of Dera Ismail Khan in NWFP, Gawadar/ Qalat in Balouchistan, Sukkar/ Larkana in Upper Sind, Jehlam/ Rawalpindi and Multan in Punjab province. These regional cities have been ignored by the federal and provincial governments although these cities have their own history, culture and languages.Dera Ismail Khan in south of Pakhtun khwa/MWFP is under seige, Multan/DG Khan in south of Punjab is next target of religious extremists,Sukkar/ Larkana is being rule by criminals, Gawadar/ Qalat is trouble some. The people of these regions have to travel to provincial capitals for every small issue and requirement of the daily life which should be provided in nearby cities. A good number of population travel to big cities for their survival to earn livelihood as the local feudal own majority land and keep the common man as their slaves. Creation of regional government and upgrading of the regional cities will save a lot of money and time of the poor people of these regions. Circuit benches of the High Courts are already working in these areas and only requirement is the additional staff of different departments involved in additional work at the provincial capitals. The concern authorities should immediately consider to upgrade the regional cities. And immediate attention should be given upgrade/build the airports,TV station, civic center, libraries,hospitals, educational institutes and investment opportunities for Pakistanis living abroad and foreign firms to create jobs in the area as majority population in rural Pakistan do not have enough resources to survive. It’s remind me the condition of pre Islamic revolution of Iran in Shah time when the rural Iran was ignored and the capital Tehran was developed in a way to call it Paris of Middle East with modern life style. Couple of other big cities like Isfahan and Caspian sea was taken care of because of foreign tourists but rural area was ruled by cruel police and intelligence. Then what happen rural population supported the Islamic revolution and moved to Tehran and other big cities later on. The new government after revolution developed, built and upgraded the rural areas of Iran accordingly. A fund to upgrade/build these regional cities in Pakistan should be established by public and private sector and Pakistani government, our foreign friends and Pakistanis living abroad may be asked to participate in this development mission in the country..KHWAJA AFTAB ALI,( former secretary, Iranian embassy, Saudi Arabia,1979-88) Advocate High Court & I.P. Attorney-first & the only Pakistani lawyer who earned Intellectual Property laws scholarship in USA,presently residing in Florida, USA.all_languages@hotmail.com