Foreign Minister Khurshid Mehmud Kasuri has said Pakistan is a "proud sovereign nation", and we conduct our foreign policy on the basis of principles, pragmatism and national interest.
Talking to newsmen at the end of his three-day visit to Washington, he said Pakistan enjoys a position of importance in the comity of nations today on the basis of its conduct as "a responsible state".
He said Pakistan does not mice words, and whenever and wherever there is divergence in our viewpoint, we express difference of stand openly and candidly, and do not shy away from facts and realities.
Kasuri said those opponents finding excuses to criticise must acknowledge that we are conducting a sound and bold foreign policy, and our accomplishments in the domain of foreign affairs and national economy are "varied and many".
With the United States, he said we, today, have multi-year and multi-faceted relationship, which is all embracing and long-term and would continue to flourish in the time ahead.
Ambassador Ashraf Jehangir Qazi was present on the occasion.
The foreign minister said our commitment to ongoing fight against global war on terror was in our national interest. We are waging a fight against terrorists and purging the society of extremism and we have made it amply clear that we would never allow suspects to operate on our territory.
At the same time, he said, we have made it clear that we are not going to kill our own people, or to fight American war.
"We believe in ownership," he declared, that is why we try to involve people in Wana, where foreign suspects are feared to be hiding.
Pakistan, he said, has lost more lives in the war on terror than any other nation; we lost precious lives of our soldiers.
To a question, Kasuri said Pakistan has repeatedly said that we would never allow access to anyone to our nuclear installations, though, we were co-operating with the international Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the international community; and that our commitment to non-proliferation is a matter of record. As far as Dr A.Q. Khan network was concerned, once evidence was brought to Pakistan's notice, we did take action against him, and the pardon granted to him is conditional.
Asked to give impressions of his visit, the foreign minister said it was an immense success, "it has been an excellent, rewarding visit".
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