ISLAMABAD, 1 May 2004 — Pakistan’s prime minister said yesterday he had received a “positive response” from all three nations during a Southeast Asian tour to drum up support for entry into a regional security form.
“We tried and got a positive response from Laos, Cambodia and Thailand,” Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali told reporters after returning from a nine-day trip.
“In all capitals there is tremendous goodwill and support for Pakistan. They appreciate Pakistan’s East Asia initiative and reiterated support for our efforts to become a member of the ARF and establish full dialogue partnership with ASEAN.”
Pakistan has been campaigning to join the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) security grouping of 23 countries, but has been blocked in the past by India, already an ARF member.
Jamali said ASEAN members had earlier supported Pakistan’s admission to the ARF but were reluctant to act due to India’s opposition. “Now after the start of composite dialogue between Pakistan and India this reluctance has gone and I am confident that India will not oppose our membership,” Jamali said.
The prime minister denied international pressure was applied on Pakistan to reduce the size of its army. On Tuesday, the country’s military leaders said the armed forces would be restructured, reducing the overall size by 50,000.
Neither the United States nor any other country pressured Pakistan to reduce its army, Jamali said.
Foreign donors and international financial institutions have in the past asked Pakistan to downsize its armed forces and divert funds to social development.
