Pak-Americans urge Obama to pursue a "partnership of peace"

Washington, Jan 28 (ANI): A group of Pakistani-American have urged US President Barack Obama to pursue a "partnership of peace" with Pakistan that should begin with respect for "statehood and sovereignty" of its long-time South Asian ally.

The Pakistan-American National Alliance (PANA) appealed to the Obama Administration and the US Congress to shun the notion of 'coercive diplomacy' in dealing with Pakistan, the Daily Times reported.

PANA founder Dr Agha Saeed, Member of New Hampshire State Assembly Saghir Tahir, Dr Fawzia Afzal Khan, an eminent professor of English Literature and Dr Ashraf Toor advocated that Washington's policies towards Pakistan must be geared towards serving the interests of both nations.

Commenting on the continued drone attacks against suspected Taliban targets inside Pakistan, the PANA leaders said such actions did not serve long-term US interests.

Instead they helped fuel fanaticism as extremist elements exploit such aggressive actions to their advantage, they added.

They said the use of military action was limited in its objectives while the problem of extremism was a complex one and required a multi-faceted approach.

Therefore, unilateral actions in the Tribal Areas should be halted immediately and the democratic Pakistani government should be given an opportunity to address extremism, they stressed.

PANA called upon the Obama Administration to adopt a comprehensive approach to address the cause of extremist violence through economic development, educational advancement and regional peace and stability initiatives.

"The PANA leadership contends that this anti-Pakistan campaign by the Indian Task Force will revive old hostilities, re-polarise Indian and Pakistani communities, jeopardise US interests, undermine prospects for peace in South Asia and weaken the centrist force while strengthening the extremists," they said. (ANI)