Pak facing serious challenges: Zardari

BY SHAFQAT ALI

Islamabad

Oct. 26: Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari has said that the country is facing serious challenges of extremism and militancy which are undermining the national interests and security.

"There is a dire need to forge unity to address these challenges. We are facing serious challenges of extremism and militancy," Mr Zardari said.

Talking to the delegation of the Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) led by its chairman Professor Mohammed Khalid Masud which called on him here on Saturday night, the President said, "We need to project Islam in its true spirit and as religion of peace, tolerance and magnanimity." Mr Zardari added, "We have to work for ending the stagnation in thought. We have to rekindle the hopes for progress and prosperity of the Muslim masses."

Pakistan is engaging key players in South Asia, including India and Afghanistan, in talks to resolve regional issues including the water problem, the President has said. "I have met (Prime Minister) Manmohan Singh once and the (Pakistan) Prime Minister (Yousaf Raza Gilani) met his Indian counterpart twice in the recent past and our focus of talks was the water issue, as Pakistan is concerned about water," Mr Zardari said.

Mr Zardari said Islamabad was also engaging Kabul in talks to resolve the issues confronting the region. Asserting that there is no judicial crisis in Pakistan, Mr Zardari also said the deposed judges, including ex-Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry, should contest polls instead of issuing political statements. Meanwhile, Pakistan foreign minister Makhdoom Shah Mehmood Qureshi said on Saturday that development process in the northern areas needs to be accelerated.