UNITED NATIONS: Pakistan on Tuesday urged the international community to look beyond sanctions and focuss on dialogue as the best way to come to an agreement on the Iran nuclear issue.
Security Council sanctions are but one means of resolving that matter, Ambassador Raza Bashir Tarar, Pakistan's deputy permanent representative to the UN, told the 15-nation council.
"We reiterate our view that Security Council sanctions should not be pursued as an end in themselves.These need to be harmonized with the larger goals set by the Council i.e. facilitating a negotiated resolution of outstanding issues," he said after the Council members were briefed by the head of the Committee charged with monitoring sanctions imposed on Iran over its nuclear programme, the so-called '1737 Committee'. The US and the European Union (EU) claim that Iran is trying to build nuclear weapons.
But Tehran says the programme is strictly for peaceful purposes. Given the delicate and complex regional environment, the Pakistan envoy warned against any actions that could escalate tensions, and he reaffirmed the need for diplomacy and dialogue.
He was obviously referring to the repeated Israeli threats to bomb Iran's nuclear facilities. Pakistan was confident that the Committee, the Council and the Panel of Experts, who monitor the sanctions, would maintain the balance between sanctions and negotiations, Tarar said.
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