By Xinhua
Islamabad : Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf said Monday all policies of the Pakistani government are pro-Pakistan and not being dictated by any other state.
Musharraf said he is not following American policies.
He was speaking at a special function to mark the 60th independence anniversary of the country.
The president said he saw everything from Pakistan’s point of view as Pakistan comes first.
He cited the Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline project as an example of pursuing policies in country’s interest, saying that Pakistan is going ahead on the project despite opposition and have good relations with Tehran.
Terming extremism and terrorism as one of the most critical problems faced by the country, Musharraf said the country’s fight against extremism and terrorism is in its own national interest and not to serve any other country’s interests.
“We must fight and defeat al-Qaida who are spawning terrorism in the world,” said the president, “These foreign terrorists are also committing terrorist acts inside Pakistan.”
He strongly urged the people to rise against extremism and terrorism and help the government overcome the challenge as government alone could not succeed in defeating the menace.
Referring to some threatening statements against Pakistan emanating from the United States, Musharraf said U.S. President George W Bush had called him to assure that his country would honor Pakistan’s sovereignty.
He said some people pass remarks in the U.S. media and this did not represent the U.S. government. The president said there have been no threats at the U.S. government level.
Musharraf further said that he was fully confident and very sure that there would be no action across the border inside Pakistan and any action inside country’s territory would be conducted by our own security forces.