News
Friday, February 24, 2012
US eager to resume Pak contacts: ClintonLONDON: US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has called for the resumption of a full range of formal contacts with Pakistan after its parliament completes a review of strained ties between the two countries. At a meeting on the sidelines of an international conference on Somalia in London on Thursday, Clinton outlined to Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar a series of steps the US would like to see once the review was completed. Speaking to reporters, Clinton called the meeting a “constructive discussion of our common concerns”. “I’m sure we will continue to have our ups and downs,” she said. “But this relationship is too important to turn our backs on — for both nations.” A senior US official said those steps include visits by top American diplomats, including the special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, Marc Grossman, Deputy Secretary of State Thomas Nides and the administrator of the US Agency for International Development, Rajiv Shah, along with a return to three-way talks between the US, Pakistan and Afghanistan. Pakistan declined a visit by Grossman earlier this year. The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe the private meeting, said the US would respect the parliamentary review but wanted to prepare for a return to “structured conversations” once the review was complete. Clinton, the official said, wanted “to get ready to get back into business with Pakistan.” A vote on the review is expected in mid-March. The US sees Pakistan as critical to its efforts to wind down the war in neighbouring Afghanistan. In particular, it wants Pakistani cooperation in tackling the Haqqani network, the Afghan insurgent group now seen as the gravest threat to NATO and Afghan troops. agencies
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk