Islamabad, Jan 24: Expressing Pakistan`s keenness
to "engage" with US, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has
invited Richard Holbrooke, the new US special envoy for
Pakistan and Afghanistan, to visit the country to develop a
"workable approach" to security issues and the war on terror.
"We are looking forward to engaging with (Holbrooke).
Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has invited him to come to
Pakistan and we hope to see him soon," Foreign Secretary
Salman Bashir said.
"He is a person who is both an accomplished diplomat,
understands the complexities of the region and, in him, we
find a very pragmatic person," Bashir told a newspaper.
The Pakistan government wants to work closely with
Holbrooke to focus on "developing a workable approach to the
issue of security and anti-terrorism", he said.
"It is quite clear that there is no military solution
given the existing complexities. If someone mentions the
military surge, then we would like to also add the political
surge, or the civilian surge as NATO Secretary General Jaap de
Hoop Scheffer said...," he added.
In one of his first major foreign policy decisions,
US President Barack Obama named Holbrooke as the special envoy
for Pakistan and Afghanistan. US State Department spokesman
Robert Woods yesterday said that Holbrooke intends to visit
the region as soon as possible.
Bashir said Pakistan would like to see development for
the long term. The issue of extremism has to be viewed "for
the whole region in a more holistic manner", he said.
"Extremism is an issue as a whole, not only for
Pakistan but also for the whole region," he said.
Pakistan yesterday welcomed Holbrooke`s appointment,
saying it was looking forward "to enhanced and fruitful
engagement with the special envoy to further the cause of
peace and stability in the region".
Bureau Report
