Islamabad, July 29 (IANS) Pakistan rejects efforts by any country to establish regional hegemony, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has said.
Gilani comment was in reference to that of US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s on India emerging as a regional and global power during a three-day visit to the neighbouring country July 18-20.
Clinton had said: ‘India is a global leader. And the US wholeheartedly supports this development and sees great benefits in our growing partnership.’
Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar too had said before her departure for New Delhi for talks with her Indian counterpart S.M. Krishna July 27 that Pakistan would not accept the hegemony of any country in the region as it is ‘by no means inferior to India’.
Gilani was speaking Thursday at a function here after inaugurating a photo exhibition ‘Spirit of Peace’ to mark Pakistan’s 50 years of contribution to UN peacekeeping missions.
The prime minister said the occasion commemorates Pakistan’s selfless and valued role in maintaining peace and stability for over half a century under the banner of the United Nations, Associated Press of Pakistan reported.
Pakistan has substantially contributed to peacekeeping efforts by responding to humanitarian crises caused by international conflicts and natural calamities, he said.
‘We are proud to have, as a matter of policy, partnered with the UN for over half a century to achieve the collective objective of peace and security. In doing so, we have contributed 136,000 peace keepers since our first mission in Congo in 1960.
‘Our people have rendered immense sacrifices. We lost 35,000 precious lives, including 5,000 security personnel, and incurred damage of billions of dollars to the national economy as a result of our participation in the war on terror,’ Gilani added.
