Iran's Hosting Of NAM Summit, Great Achievement : Pak MP

Islamabad, Aug 28, IRNA – A Pakistani lawmaker said here Monday hosting of Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) summit in Tehran is a great achievement for the Islamic Republic. Talking to IRNA Senator Zafar Ali Shah of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz said that participation of such a large number of countries in the conference shows that these countries respect Iranian stance on world issues. The lawmaker said that Iran is a major country of the world and cannot be isolated by building pressure. The Senator was of the opinion that the NAM meeting would help in addressing many important issues. “NAM member states are inclined towards Iran,” he strongly believed. Zafar Ali Shah added that the NAM meeting is highly significant both for Iran and for member states. The Pakistani politician said that hosting of NAM summit would give boost to the self confidence of the Iranian government and the people of Iran. He said that Iran is holding an important position in the region. The PML-N leader also said that in near future NAM would emerge as an important organization of the world. Zafar Ali Shah said that Iran is a sovereign state and has always taken impartial stand on world issues. The parliamentarian said that the US is against the NAM summit because it does not serve their interest. “US is afraid of the NAM,” noted the politician. The Senator added that as the United Nations is highly influenced by American policies so many countries of the world are looking towards other organizations to resolve disputes. Zafar Ali Shah went on to say that NAM could play an effective role in this regard. Iran’s Foreign Minister Ali-Akbar Salehi has said that Iran is an influential and a key-player country in international arena and hence everything in regional and international areas will meet a dead-end in the absence of the Islamic Republic of Iran. The 16th NAM Summit meeting began in Tehran on August 26. 'Egypt will hand over the chairmanship of NAM to Iran for the next three years,' Iranian foreign minister added./end