The Hindu : I'm a contented man, says Jamali

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Jun 27, 2003

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I'm a contented man, says Jamali

By B. Muralidhar Reddy

ISLAMABAD JUNE 26. Unperturbed by the United States decision not to supply the F-16 aircraft, Pakistan has said that it is not dependent on one country to fulfil its security and defence needs.

The Pakistan Prime Minister, Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali, told correspondents in Multan town in Punjab province on Wednesday that if the U.S. refused to give the F-16 fighter planes, the country would buy compatible planes from other countries, including France.

He said the people had pinned high hopes on the President, Pervez Musharraf's current visit to America. "People have yet to comprehend the working of Gen. Musharraf, which I have understood within a short span of time.''

Mr. Jamali said that America wanted a long-standing relationship with Pakistan, and winning of an aid package of $3 billions was no mean achievement. He recalled that the U.S. had earlier waived a $1-billion debt.

Asked if his authority as the chief executive of the country was not eroded with Gen. Musharraf conducting the high-profile foreign trips, Mr. Jamali said that he knew that people raised the point that Gen. Musharraf did not include any member of his (Premier's) Cabinet in his foreign tours. "But they forget that the Finance Minister, Shaukat Aziz, is also a member of my Cabinet.''

He said it was more important to realise who could better plead the country's case at a particular forum. President Musharraf had been in constant touch with the Bush administration over the last three years. "On the other hand, I have not (even) seen Mr. Bush,'' he remarked. "Moreover, I am a faqir mansh (contented man).''

He strongly dispelled rumours that Pakistan was about to accept Israel as a state, saying: "it will not happen, nor will the country's atomic programme be rolled back.''

Mr. Jamali said that a resumption of air and road links with India had been decided in principle, and it was only a matter of time before these decisions were implemented. His Government was ready to talk with the Indian leadership on all issues, including the core issue of Kashmir.

In a related development, the Pakistan Foreign Minister, Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri, said that Pakistan was not in competition with India in missile testing and would do so only when it needs to. Mr. Kasuri told reporters that Pakistan has its own schedule of testing and will not react to the four missile tests by India in as many days.

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