The Express Tribune, an internationally affiliated newspaper in Pakistan hailed President Mahinda Rajapaksa for his role in elimination of terrorism in Sri Lanka.

“It took almost 30 years for the Sri Lankan government to defeat terrorism on the island. And a man with the determination and common sense of President Mahinda Rajapaksa to do the job. Today, as the island starts to reap the dividends of peace, one asks what Pakistan can learn from this experience”, The Express Tribune adds.

“In 2005, when Rajapaksa was elected to power, he came with a single agenda – to defeat forces of the LTTE. Till then, the Tigers seemed invincible. The island was wracked with attacks – bomb blasts, suicide attacks and guerrilla tactics that left the Lankan army and the government only reacting – much like what Pakistan is going through”, it further states.

Soon after coming to power, Mahinda Rajapaksa – an elected president and man of the people – took a number of steps which can now be cited as leading to the success of the island nation against the terrorists. First of all, he sought a broad consensus and stamp of approval from all political parties – opposition MPs as well as minority communities like the Muslims. He got a national backing to take on the LTTE, the paper adds.

The lesson that one learns from Sri Lanka, say diplomats in Pakistan, is that it can be done.

‘Rajapaksa’s popularity has soared ever since the war ended,’ the paper quotes Pakistan High Commissioner to Sri Lanka, Seema Ilahi Baloch.

“He is a man of the people and one can see it in how he interacts,” she says.

Article is found at:
http://tribune.com.pk/story/246881/inspiration-if-sri-lanka-can-do-it-so-can-we/