Nancy meets Ejaz

Staff Report

ISLAMABAD: United States Ambassador to Pakistan Nancy Powell said she hoped Pakistan would continue to play its role against terrorism and would create an atmosphere to end extremism while meeting with Religious Affairs Minister Ejazul Haq on Thursday.

Mr Haq assured Ms Powell that Pakistan is aware of its international obligations and has always played a positive role in this regard. He said there are many misunderstandings in the Western world about Islam.

He said Islam is a religion of peace and respect for fundamental rights and democracy is the basis of Islam. He said religious seminaries are model non-governmental organisations in Pakistan. “More then one million students who are studying in madrassas enjoy free education, residences, food and other facilities,” he said.

Mr Haq said that US policymakers should think about why anger was increased in Muslim countries. He urged American policymakers to try to understand the true spirit of Islam. He denied that madrassas in Pakistani were involved in terrorism.

He said that if the government received any information that madrassas were involved in terrorism, the government would take action against them.

He told Ms Powell that Pakistan is cooperating with the Bush administration on principle and the US should understand Pakistan’s problems. The meeting lasted for one hour.

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