Pakistan wants India-style nuclear deal with US

LONDON - Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi has said that the West needs to trust us as Pakistan is concerned and is serious in dealing with terrorism but we will use force as a last resort.
“We will not allow foreign troops to operate inside our territory. Military action within our territory is the sole prerogative of the Pakistani armed forces. We are political people and will not surrender to extremists,” he said.
Addressing at the International Institute of Strategic Studies, a prestigious British think-tank, Mr Qureshi said: “Our message to terrorists is clear and unequivocal. We will not allow our territory to be used by terrorists and we will not be daunted by the threats of terrorism.” At the same time, he also made clear that Pakistan had subscribed a comprehensive strategy to counter terrorism that includes political, economic and military measures to find immediate and long-term solutions to the problem. The international community will have to ensure that the right of peoples to self-determination is not de-legitimised by associating it with terrorism. The two are clearly distinct and this distinction needs to be maintained through an agreed legal definition of terrorism”.
He said Pakistan is facing challenges like the conflict in Afghanistan and the unresolved Kashmir dispute. Resolution of these issues is an imperative for peace and economic prosperity of the region and its people. Afghanistan became a base for extremist forces, comprising mostly of foreign elements, who had come to oust the Soviet Union. Qureshi said Pakistan supported the government of President Karzai and its efforts to help restore normalcy and stability in Afghanistan. An Afghanistan at peace with itself is important for Pakistan and vital for the stability and economic progress of the entire region, he said, adding: “We therefore call upon the international community to help restore Afghanistan’s past glory and to help in its reconstruction and rehabilitation.”
The Foreign Minister said Pakistan is fully aware of the threat to Afghanistan’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. “We are doing all we can to ensure that our territory is not used as a staging ground for attacks into Afghanistan however, it deeply hurts us when there are accusatory statements from Afghanistan that we are endangering their peace and sovereignty. Nothing can be far from the truth. We want a stable and viable Afghanistan to play its due role in the betterment and development of the region,” Qureshi said.