New York, Sept 25 : In the wake of the fresh spate of suicide attacks in Pakistan, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has said that terrorism in Pakistan and Afghanistan needed a ‘negotiated settlement’ and not a “military action”.

He said that as the British and Soviet forces failed to resolve the Afghan crisis, the US-led NATO troops could also not do any better in Pakistan.

“Foreign troops in Afghanistan have always left in defeat. The British left in disgrace and the Soviets also left in defeat. There is no guarantee that NATO troops will do any better,” the Dawn quoted Ahmadinejad as saying at a press conference.

He said Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan faced a common problem and that no body would succeed in disturbing political equilibrium. “We are part of a larger family. Anyone who disturbs this political equilibrium in this region would fall headlong to the ground,” said Iranian President.

About Iran’s nuclear programme, President Ahmadinejad said that “it was a politicised issue and not a legal one”.

On the United Nations Security Council’s threat of sanctions, he said that Iran’s opponents should stop using the “language of force”. “Countries with nuclear arsenals should change their behaviour towards other nations. Iran is a big nation, which can manage itself quite well,” he added. (ANI)