Minister for Information and Broadcasting Qamar Zaman Kaira said on Wednesday that reopening of supply route to the NATO...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. It's headquartered in Belgium. That sez it all....
forces in Afghanistan was not a question of victory or defeat but the issue of our principled stance on Salala attack which has been accepted by the United States.
Replying to questions of media representatives during a briefing after the cabinet meeting here, the minister said that our stance was that Pakistain being a frontline state had suffered the most and thousands of its soldiers and citizens bit the dust in this war.
"Our demand was that NATO should accept their mistake and should tender apology which has been accepted", he said.
Kaira said that the United States has also changed its stated position and tendered apology over Salala incident and the unfortunate situation has been rectified now, which is in the interest of Pakistain, Afghanistan, NATO and International Security Assistance Forces (ISAF).
He said that Pakistain has reiterated it stance on drone attacks and has been assured that in future Pakistain's illusory sovereignty will be respected.
To a question he said that the government took guidelines from the Parliament on its foreign policy and time of six to eight months on restoration of supply to NATO was logical.
Replying to a question, Kaira said that the government was taking decisions in larger national interests and it was aware that elections will be due soon and some people will try to get advantage of the opening of NATO supplies to Afghanistan.
"But we believe that the people of Pakistain are mature and no one can instigate them. Pakistain has to play its role in withdrawal of foreign troops from Afghanistan, and it will be in the interest of both Pakistain and Afghanistan," he added.