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Sharief collects assurances of help during Gulf visit

In a bid to take Pakistan out of the imminent economic crisis following sanctions by some nations, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharief has successfully persuaded Abu Dhabi and Saudi Arabia to commit financial assistance to his country.

According to informed sources, during his visit to the two Arab countries, Sharief was assured that Pakistan would not be left in the lurch during its hour of crisis.

Sharief, who was accompanied by Finance Minister Sartaj Aziz, Oil Minister Nisar Ali and his brother, Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharief, was promised nearly two billion-dollar assistance by Saudi Arabia, besides supply of oil on credit. The Pakistani leaders met King Fahd and Crown Prince Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz.

Shaikh Zaid bin Sultan al Nahyan of Abu Dhabi hailed Pakistan for becoming the first Muslim nuclear nation, and assured the country of economic assistance.

Riding on the assurances, Sharief is now expected to announce his economic agenda in an address to the nation on Wednesday.

The Sharief government, which has announced an austerity programme to meet the effect of the sanctions, would present its annual budget next week.

Meanwhile, cricketer-turned politician Imran Khan has urged the Pakistani prime minister to accept his 11-point demands, including surrender of 25 per cent of wealth and property by Sharief to the country, after which the Tehirik-e-Insaf leader would conduct a fund raising campaign and make available $ 1.5 billion to the government.

On Sunday, Sharief said in Abu Dhabi that he would unveil a "national agenda" on Wednesday to meet the situation arising out of the nuclear tests conducted by his country last month.

Addressing members of the Pakistani community in Abu Dhabi, he said the times ahead would be difficult and urged his countrymen to rally round the government to overcome the crisis.

"We would like all Pakistanis, both at home and abroad, to abide by the agenda and join us in this great task", he said. He did not give any details about the agenda.

As the gathering cheered loudly, Sharief said the tests had enabled Pakistanis everywhere to walk with their heads high and the country to take its rightful place in the world.

He said India had adopted a belligerent stance after its tests, but had changed its tone after Pakistan responded with its own tests.

"Now they are offering to talk with us on Kashmir and other issues. This is the way to talk, sabre-rattling will not help," he said.

He said Pakistan's nuclear tests had drawn the attention of the entire world to the Kashmir issue.

Sharief arrived in Abu Dhabi on Saturday night on the first leg of a tour aimed at briefing Gulf leaders on Pakistan's position on the nuclear tests.

In Abu Dhabi, he did not talk to newsmen but Pakistani Foreign Secretary Shamshad Ahmed described the meeting with Sheikh Zayed as "very constructive and positive".

He said Sharief told the UAE leaders that Pakistan had been trying to alert the international community to the "serious threats" faced by it ever since the Bharatiya Janata Party-led coalition came to power in India.

According to Ahmed, Sharief said the BJP agenda had three elements that threatened Pakistan -- "its plans to exercise the nuclear option, induct nuclear weapons and impose a military solution on the Kashmir issue".

"We tried to draw the attention of the world community to this threat and said that action had to be taken to stop India. But nothing was done, our warnings were unheeded," he said.

He maintained that the issues between India and Pakistan could be solved only with the involvement of a third party and cited the instances of the Indus water basin treaty and the agreement on the Rann of Kutch to support this view.

UNI

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