Give us aid, tools to defeat extremists, Zardari tells US

Asserting that US assistance to Pakistan was "not charity", president Asif Ali Zardari on Wednesday said urgent American aid including modern military equipment was required to help his country defeat extremists which would be also in Washington's interest.
   
"Give us the tools, and we will get the job done," Zardari said, adding American aid to Pakistan was in US' "long-term, strategic interest".
    
The president's remarks came while making a case for massive US aid to save Pakistan from the brink of economic collapse and to make it stable to defeat extremists, as he appealed to Washington to give it necessary tools including modern military equipment.
     
In a special opinion piece published in 'The Washington Post', Zardari said, "(Barack) Obama understands that for Pakistan to defeat the extremists, it must be stable." For democracy to succeed, Pakistan must be economically viable, he added.
    
"Assistance to Pakistan is not charity; rather, the creation of a politically stable and economically viable Pakistan is in the long-term, strategic interest of the United States," he said.
    
Zardari said the Obama administration should immediately encourage Congress to pass the Enhanced Partnership with Pakistan Act.
    
The multi-year, USD 1.5 billion annual commitment to social progress here would signal to the people of Pakistan that this is no longer a relationship of political convenience but, rather, of shared values and goals, he said.
    
"Strengthening our democracy and helping us to improve education, housing and health care is the greatest tool we could wield against extremism. Indeed, such policy is the fanatics' worst fear," Zardari said.

Referring to another pending legislation in US Congress, Zardari said the designation of regional opportunity zones (ROZs) to build a viable economy in northwest Pakistan and in Afghanistan would give residents an economic and political stake in the success of their democratic governments.
    
If approved this legislation would result in tax free export of products manufactured in specially designated areas of Afghanistan and Pakistan.
    
"(ROZs) Legislation introduced last year by Rep. Chris Van Hollen and senator Maria Cantwell should be quickly revisited; it would signal to our region that the United States understands the correlation between a healthy economy, a satisfied people and a stable government," Zardari said.
    
"Over the past several months, remarkable progress has been made in our battle against the Taliban and al-Qaeda. Measures include repeated airstrikes by our F-16s and targeted ground assaults. We are willing to act to save our nation," he wrote.
    
"To the extent that we are unable to fully execute battle plans, we urge the United States to give us necessary resources -- upgrading our equipment and providing the newest technology -- so that we can fight the terrorists proactively on our terms, not reactively on their terms," he said.
    
Observing that Pakistan and the US have much in common and should be partners in peace, Zardari said this moment of crisis is an opportunity to recast their relationship. "We are extending our hand in friendship," he said.
    
"Indeed, Pakistan's new democracy has pried open the clenched fists of the extremists, to use a metaphor from president Obama's inaugural address. Let it not be said by future generations that our nations missed an extraordinary opportunity to build lasting peace in South Asia," Zardari wrote.