Pakistan will protect its “nuclear assets'' and will fight terrorism without allowing any outside interference on its territory, Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz said as he marked the country's 60th anniversary of independence.
“We will never tolerate it if anyone casts an evil eye on our nuclear assets,'' Aziz said in the capital, Islamabad, late yesterday. “We will not let any foreign force interfere inside Pakistan's territory.''
Pakistan is the only nuclear Islamic state that has put in place a strong command and control structure for its program, Aziz said. The country is working with its neighbors to maintain peace and stability in the region, he added.
The U.S. is pressuring Pakistan to tackle al-Qaeda fighters sheltering in the tribal region bordering Afghanistan. Pakistan criticized U.S. government officials for stating that striking “actionable'' terrorist targets on Pakistani territory remains an option, adding that any American raids would harm relations between the countries.
“We have the ability to defend our motherland till the last drop of blood,'' Aziz said. “We have enough strength, courage and ability to defend our nuclear assets.''
Pakistan will never allow its territory to be used for terrorist purposes, President Pervez Musharraf said in comments to army officers in Islamabad yesterday.
“The country is facing the menace of extremism and terrorism and it is very unfortunate that a handful of extremist groups want to force their will over the majority who are enlightened and moderate,'' Musharraf said.
Nuclear Accord
Pakistan marked its independence from Britain in 1947 yesterday. Neighboring India celebrates Independence Day today.
India and the U.S. completed an accord last month to develop nuclear energy cooperation. The civilian and military nuclear programs run by India and Pakistan remain outside the 1970 United Nations Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, which they haven't signed.
Maintaining a strategic balance in the region “would have been better served if the United States had considered a package approach for Pakistan and India,'' Pakistan's National Command Authority, a body that includes Musharraf, said in a statement Aug. 3, the official Associated Press of Pakistan reported at the time.
Islamic Groups
Musharraf is facing the biggest challenge to his rule since he took power in a military coup in 1999, as opposition parties protest his plan for a second five-year term and Islamic groups denounce his support for the U.S.-led war on terrorism. Last week, he rejected imposing a state of emergency to quell unrest, saying he wants elections held on time.
Pakistanis should participate in general elections due before January 2008 to demonstrate the open environment in the country, Musharraf said in a message to the nation on the eve of yesterday's independence celebrations, APP reported.
Aziz pledged yesterday that the election will be “transparent and will strengthen democracy, while its results will reflect the aspirations of the people.''
Pakistan has a population of 165 million people, 97 percent of them Muslim. Indonesia is the world's most populous Muslim nation, with 234 million people.
