Pakistani Journalist Terms Ahmadinejad As True Muslim Leader

Islamabad, Nov 28, IRNA – Senior Vice President of All Pakistan Newspaper Society (APNS) on Tuesday said that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has always presented the view point of Muslims very effectively and boldly to the western world. Talking to IRNA, Editor-in-Chief of daily ‘Ausaf’ Mehtab Khan said that the recent visit of Iranian President to Pakistan is a great honor for the Pakistani nation and the government. “Iranian President is the only Muslim leader who truly fights for the rights of Ummah across the globe,” he added. The journalist added that Ahmadinejad’s visit got wide coverage in Pakistani media and all newspapers and TV channels highlighted his visit in main stories. Mehtab Khan hailed President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s speech at D-8 forum in which he suggested the Muslims to unite against the anti-Islam conspiracies. He said that Iranian President is an outspoken leader. The journalist was of the view that since the Islamic revolution, Iran has been standing by its principles and refused to bow down to western pressure. The intellectual viewed that Iranian President’s participation in the Developing-8 (D-8) was every important for the group. He strongly believed that the visit of the Iranian President would open new vistas of cooperation between Iran and Pakistan. He said that Pakistan and Iran must enhance their trade links to the maximum level. Mehtab Khan said that Iran is our neighbor and both countries enjoy strong brotherly relation which would further improve after the visit of the Iranian President. He opined that the western countries have been trying to divide Muslims by sowing the seed of discord. The journalist demanded of the Muslim community to sink their differences and unite against the enemies of Islam. He stressed the need for practical efforts to foil designs of Israel and US against Muslim Ummah. He said that President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has rightly stressed the need for close cooperation between Iran, Pakistan and Afghanistan to expel US and its allies from the region. Mehtab Khan said that the there is no room for western forces in the region. He said that Iran and Pakistan must continue to work on energy projects especially Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline project. “It is good to see that Iran has already completed its portion of the pipeline and is also ready to assist Pakistan in building the Pakistani portion of the IP project,” he opined. “We must look for our interests and should not bother about what Americans say about the project,” he added. Responding to a question he said that D-8 is a strong group of developing countries. He said that he is optimistic about the future of the D-8. The journalist went on to say that Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari has told the western powers that the developing countries would cooperate in all sectors despite their pressure. Mehtab Khan said that the conference of the D-8 would prove to be a milestone in boosting the trade among D-8 member states. He said that Iran and Turkey being two important countries of the world can play a major role in the progress of D-8 countries. The intellectual expressing his views said that people of D-8 countries are fully aware about the importance of close cooperation among the D-8 members. “We must differentiate between our friends and foes and come out of America influence,” he said. Mehtab Khan opined the close cooperation among D-8 countries would help to overcome the challenges to the developing world./end