Miss Pakistan World Natasha Paracha has said that her country's image has been threatened after the terror attacks on Mumbai.
ISLAMABAD: A Pakistani beauty queen has said that her country's image has been threatened after the Mumbai attacks and her countrymen should stand up and condemn the terrorist incident.
"The image of Pakistan has been threatened with these recent attacks and I feel that now as Pakistanis we have to stand up and (condemn) what has happened in the country of India...," reigning Miss Pakistan World Natasha Paracha told CNN in an interview.
When told that India and Pakistan have been enemies for many decades and questioned whether there is any sympathy for terrorists in her country, New York-based Paracha said, "I wouldn't call India and Pakistan enemies.yes there has been cross-border tension but India and Pakistan have been working as friends and as colleagues for many years now."
On British Prime Minister Gordon Brown's recent observation that three-quarters of the most serious terror plots being investigated by UK authorities have links to Pakistan, she said: "These are non-state actors. Pakistan has been working to fight terrorism for a few years now and as President Zardari has said and Prime Minister Gillani has stated, we are going to work with the world community to fight this terrorism"
Asked if she was pleased with the Pakistan government's response to the terror attacks in Mumbai and if Pakistan is doing enough to hunt down terrorists, Paracha said, "I think the government is doing the best that they can that's far, but definitely it is going to be a long battle, it is going to be a long war against terrorism"
Paracha, who is also the chairperson of Pakistani affairs with UN's international renewable energy organisation, said Pakistanis and Indians should work together. They should "work on this friendship that we have and (condemn) these attacks".
Asked how she would tackle terrorism as Miss Pakistan, Paracha said, "As Miss Pakistan and as a young woman representing the nation and I can definitely think that I would like to promote the country and show that Pakistani women are strong and we can definitely do a lot to represent the nation a lot on the global sphere.."
The much-talked about Miss Pakistan World pageant, which is in its sixth edition, is frowned upon by conservative elements in the country.
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