By Diyar Guldogan
ANKARA
Pakistan has resolved to fight terrorism on its own in the country and does not require anyone's help to deal with the menace, speaker of the Pakistani parliament told AA in an exclusive interview.
National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq made the remarks during his visit to Turkey, where he is leading a parliamentary delegation from Pakistan at the 10th session of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation's Parliamentary Union in Istanbul. The interview was held in Ankara Tuesday when Sadiq came to meet President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
About Pakistan’s challenges in dealing with terrorism, the speaker said, "We are resolved. We do not want anyone to help us. We are going to fight terrorism by ourselves."
The Pakistani official also mentioned a renewed resolve to tackle terrorism head on in the country in the aftermath of a deadly attack on a Pakistani school on Dec. 16, 2014 that left 141 people, including 132 children and nine staff dead.
"This incident has really shaken up the country. This opens the eyes of Pakistanis. We are not only hurt, but we are angry also," Sadiq said. "All the political parties in Pakistan are now united to plan a new strategy to counter terrorism."
Turkey had also strongly condemned the school attack and observed a national day of mourning in solidarity with Pakistan. Sadiq appreciated Turkey for mourning the incident with Pakistan, which was one of the deadliest attacks in its 66-year history.
About seeking help from abroad in the fight against terrorism, the Pakistani official said, "We are depending on ourselves and trying to solve our own problems."
He clarified that Pakistan did not want to be “browbeaten” by the U.S. or any other country.
"Personally, I do not expect any support from the U.S. They are the root cause of all this terrorism. They are the ones who created terrorism when Soviet Union had invaded Afghanistan (in the 80s), they are the ones who trained the jihadis, so we are cooperating on a mutual respect basis. With the U.S., we will keep on cooperating with them, but we do not want to be browbeaten by the U.S. or anybody else,” he said.
Thousands of people have died in Pakistan in terrorist attacks, majority of them civilians. Pakistan army last year launched a military operation in the North Waziristan tribal agency, considered to be the hub of terrorism in the country.
About the Organization of Islamic Cooperation’s session in Istanbul, Sadiq said Pakistan drafted a resolution to condemn the publication of caricatures of Prophet Muhammad, which is considered blasphemous by Muslims.
Sadiq said the resolution, which was adopted unanimously by the organization, gave a clear message to the international community that since "we respect your religion, you should also respect ours."
On Jan. 7, at least 12 people were killed in Paris when two masked gunmen, Said and Cherif Kouachi, opened fire on the staff of French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo. The weekly was known for printing controversial material, including cartoons of the Prophet in 2006 and 2012.
According to the official website of Pakistan's parliament, Sadiq was elected as speaker of Pakistani parliament with more than two thirds majority of votes on June 3, 2013. He belongs to the ruling party of Pakistan, the PML-N, which is led by Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.
