Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan People’s Party Parliamentarians President (PPPP) Asif Ali Zardari said on Tuesday that Pakistan is a growing power in the region and a significant new investment hub coming from the east.

“Our nation is young, the average age is eighteen and demographically we will grow tremendously over the next few decades,” he said in a statement issued by the party secretariat.

“Pakistan has emerged as a strong democratic nation in the region, focused on providing safety and prosperity to its people,” Asif Zardari added.

He said the attacks at the Army Public School in Peshawar, the explosion in Quetta and Charsadda, the Bacha Khan University killing and the recent bombing in Lahore that killed 74 and injured 338 demonstrated the dimensions of this problem.

“We are literally fighting for our lives. If there are factions in the US congress that don’t believe we are committed to fighting terrorists they should come to Pakistan and witness the violence inflicted on Pakistan’s citizens from terrorist organizations,” Asif Zardari said.

Commenting on Pak-US relations, Asif Zardari said the bilateral relations have suffered tremendously over the last fifteen years. Regarding F-16 deals, he said, “I encourage the United States to look beyond its checklist of requirements for cooperation on our security needs and instead think strategically about how it can support a democratic nation under pressure from the same terror groups that threaten regional security,” he remarked.