960428

Benazir assures

firm support of Israeli

pullout from Lebanon

SUKKUR: Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto has categorically declared Pakistan's firm support to the UN resolution calling Israel to pull out from South Lebanon and return of Lebanese sovereignty over the occupied territory. The Premier said that in her recent visit to Syria she had conveyed her government and people of Pakistan's all out support and solidarity with their Arab brethren, as "we shared common cause with them".

Prime Minister who was addressing a group of media-men, and President and General Secretaries of Press Clubs of Interior Sindh at Larkana on Saturday night at a dinner hosted by Sindh Minister for Planning and Development Nisar Khuhro, informed her government's various internal and external policies.

She complimented Syria and Bahrain for having played a very helping role in the OIC conference held in Casablanca, where they had stressed for resolving the Kashmir dispute in accordance with the United Nations resolutions. Similarly she said Pakistan had called for implementing the UN resolution 425, calling for the withdrawal of the Israeli forces.

Prime Minister said a very positive and realistic foreign policy had been pursued by her government keeping the national interest high above anything.

She said time was over when the country was threatened of being declared as a terrorist state, and had been totally isolated on all fronts due to ill-conceived approach of Nawaz Sharif government.

She said foreign policy mainly catered to our economic and trade interests with other states, and as Pakistan had a tripartite geo-physical situation, encircled by Central Asian Republics,the Gulf States, and the South East Asian bloc, it enjoyed a very advantageous position even after the expiry of cold war period.

Prime Minister said her visits to Bahrain and Syria had been very fruitful and several trade delegations would soon exchange visits, while both Bahrain and Pakistan had agreed to list their companies on their stock exchanges for floating and trading shares.

She declared that country was economically and politically stable today, which was evident that bulk foreign investment was pouring in, specially in the energy sector.

She said that her government had encouraged investment in energy sector, various bottlenecks had been removed for quick and easy investment through one window operation, and on first come first serve basis. This would ultimately help government achieve its target of overcoming loadshedding by 2005, the Prime Minister observed.

Prime Minister said she was determined to eradicate corruption from politics and that is why she had not even spared her party's MNA from undergoing detention for an alleged offence for some nine months, even though "he is our friend".

She recalled usurpation of national resources, plundering of wealth by previous regime of Nawaz Sharif, and further said that 14 billion rupees bank loans were acquired by just four big families of that regime.

The Premier said she had also ordered observance of strict austerity at all levels in government, and in PM house and all such expenses had been cut to 50 percent.

She said the size of foreign delegations also remained averagely from 50 to 60, which also included 20-25 media-men and security people, while in Nawaz Sharif period the number of such delegations was from 120 to 130.

She said Northern Areas had also introduced the democratic system, and an elected council was doing its work.Kashmir issue had also been tremendously highlighted, which,she said,was a real achievement of her government.

Prime Minister complimented the role of press in nation-building task, and assured of her government's fullest support in performance of their duty.-APP