Mottaki made the remarks in an address to the one-day Friends of Democratic Pakistan conference in the Belgian capital Brussels on Friday. He was indirectly referring to U.S. and NATO military adventurism in Afghanistan and the U.S. drone attacks on tribal areas in neighboring Pakistan.
The Friends of Democratic Pakistan (FoDP) was set up as a forum in September 2008 to support the country’s efforts to build a peaceful, prosperous democracy.
EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, Pakistani Foreign Minister Makhdoom Shah Mahmood Qureshi, and U.S. special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan Richard Holbrooke were the co-hosts of the gathering.
Pakistan is a victim of terrorism
Despite Pakistan’s potential for economic development, it has become “the victim of terrorism and insecurity,” Mottaki told the conference participants.
The Iranian foreign minister also said Iran stands in solidarity with the Pakistani people and government and urged all countries to send more humanitarian assistance to Pakistan to help it deal with the effects of the recent floods.
The floods, which began in late July, made more than 10 million people homeless and affected 21 million.
Elsewhere in his remarks, Mottaki cited human trafficking, drug trafficking, extremism, terrorism, and organized crime as the major problems in the region.
Germany seeks release of nationals held in Iran
The Iranian foreign minister also held separate talks with his German, Canadian, and Turkish counterparts on the sidelines of the conference.
German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle asked Mottaki to help obtain the release of two German nationals who were arrested and imprisoned in Iran. However, Mottaki said the issue should be addressed through the normal legal procedure.
Posing as reporters, the Germans interviewed the son of Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, a woman convicted of committing murder and adultery and sentenced to death for the crime of murder.
The two German nationals were arrested after a person close to the family notified the authorities about their suspicious behavior.
The two Germans have acknowledged their offence and said they should not have claimed they were journalists, National Prosecutor General Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Ejei told reporters on Thursday.
West imposing its version of human rights
In his meeting with Canadian Foreign Minister Lawrence Cannon, Mottaki criticized the West for trying to impose its own version of human rights on other countries.
In his meeting with Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, Mottaki called for the expansion of bilateral economic cooperation within the framework of the Iran-Turkey joint commission.
EP/PA/HG
END
MNA
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