News
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Pakistan warns US on aid cuts
* President tells US delegation any cut in assistance will not only impact Pakistan’s existing economic conditions but will also send a negative signal to public about US
* Hopes all such legislations and uncalled for moves will be avoided
ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari on Tuesday said that any cut in the US assistance would not only impact Pakistan’s existing economic conditions but would also send a negative signal to the public about commitment of the US government towards the people of Pakistan when they are suffering heavily in economic terms due to unparalleled toll of war against terror.
The president was talking to a US delegation comprising Senator Carl Levin, Senator Jeff Merkley, Senator Jeanne Shaheen and other senior officials, including that of the US embassy in Islamabad during a meeting at Presidency on Tuesday.
Discussing some recent developments, the president said that Pakistan was concerned about the reports of proposed slash in US assistance for the country.
He said that Pakistan shared common objectives with the United States in the region and was ready to work with international community for reconciliation and peace in Afghanistan.
He said both the countries needed to avoid all actions that send negative signal and prove to be counter-productive in a bid to forge a collaborative and comprehensive partnership.
Emphasising the need to avoid all such legislations and uncalled for moves, the president hoped that all such steps would be avoided.
From the Pakistan side, Defence Minister Chaudhry Ahmed Mukhtar, General Secretary M Salman Faruqui, Senator Syeda Sughra Imam, Acting Foreign Secretary Dr Alamgir Babar and Spokesperson to the President Farhatullah Babar attended the meeting.
Matters relating to Pak-US bilateral relations, war against terror and regional situation were discussed in the meeting.
Zardari said that both the countries had invested substantially on building the process of strategic dialogue and “we must not allow some incidents to roll back the labour of building an enduring and multifaceted equation as it was no option for the two countries at this critical time”.
The president said, “Drag on our relations due to operation irritants can effectively be avoided if the terms of engagements were clearly defined and followed in their true essence by the two countries.”
About the fight against terrorism, the president said that Pakistan had offered huge sacrifices in this war.
He said that the militants were created and nurtured by the international community to defeat a rival ideology.
At that time the mujahideen were likened as `the moral equivalents of George Washington’, the president said and added that it was the responsibility of the international community to help Pakistan in the fight against terrorists.
Zardari said that the people of Pakistan, especially those of the Tribal Areas, were the worst sufferers of militancy and there was an urgent need to focus on their socio-economic development and to bring qualitative change in their lives in order to win the battle of hearts and minds.
Senator Carl Levin thanked the president for meeting the delegation and appreciated Pakistan’s struggle against militants.
Separately, Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani stressed that relations between the United States and Pakistan should go beyond terrorism and cover areas of bilateral relations on durable basis for the benefit of two peoples.
Talking to Senator Carl Levin, Chairman of Armed Services Committee at the Prime Minister’s House, Gilani said that Pakistan had suffered in the fight against terrorism and rendered more sacrifices in terms of civilians and troops’ fatalities than the coalition partners put together.
He said, “The success of military operation in Malakand Division stands out because the nation not only defeated the terrorists but also managed the return of more than two million IDPs (internally displaced persons) within two months to their homes with honour and dignity”.
The prime minister said that Pakistan desired a sovereign, independent, peaceful, stable and prosperous Afghanistan. app
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk