ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani on Thursday urged the NATO and ISAF to effectively deal with the issue of poppy cultivation in Afghanistan and drug trafficking which still remains the main source of funding for extremists and terrorist elements. This has led to exporting numerous problems to Pakistan and stressed that the elimination of poppy cultivation is the key for defeating the menace of terrorism in the region, he added. The Prime Minister was talking to an eight?member delegation of the British Select Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Commons headed by Mike Capes which called on him here at the PM House on Thursday.

The Prime Minister said that “the UK Policy on Afghanistan and Pakistan: The Way Forward” announced by the British Prime Minister yesterday has many aspects which require careful examination and further clarifications.

He said that the policy acknowledges Pakistan’s position that military option alone cannot resolve the problems of insecurity, insurgency and terrorism while placing emphasis on the development dimension which his government has been advocating since long.

He however stressed that the policy must also recognize that the problems faced by Pakistan today are rooted in decades old conflict in Afghanistan; that Pakistan and Afghanistan have distinctly different political and institutional traditions and hence they must not be bracketed together for finding solutions of the problems faced by them.

The Prime Minister assured the British delegation of his government’s steadfast and unwavering commitment to fight the menace of extremism and terrorism but highlighted the urgency of capacity building of Pakistani Law Enforcing Agencies and Armed Forces as promised by important countries like US and UK.

The Prime Minister apprised the British MPs of the sense of anxiety generated amongst the people of Pakistan in and outside the country because of the arrests of Pakistani students in UK and urged them to play their role in ensuring that the people of Pakistani origin are not discriminated against in any way.

He added that since no evidence was found against the arrested Pakistani students, they should not be deported and be allowed to complete their studies.

He welcomed the heightened exchanges between Pakistan and UK in all levels and underlined the importance of people to people contacts and parliamentary exchanges for eliminating any possible misperceptions and misunderstandings in otherwise cordial relations between the two countries.

The British delegation expressed their understanding of the ground realities and the challenges being faced by Pakistan. They agreed with the Prime Minister on the need of evolving mechanism to check cross border movement of undesirable elements from both sides.

The leader of the delegation appreciated Pakistan’s role and sacrifices in the campaign against terrorism and assured that the British government will extend full support in this regard.-APP