News
Saturday, January 08, 2011
Pakistan to fully facilitate Afghan peace efforts: FM
* Qureshi says stable Afghanistan in Pak’s strategic interest
* Asks US to accelerate disbursement of economic aid to Pakistan
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan, as the immediate neighbour of Afghanistan, will not shirk from taking every step possible to promote and facilitate reconciliation and reintegration in the country as part of the Afghanistan-driven process, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said on Friday, adding that it was necessary that Pakistan and the US were on the same page.
During a meeting with US Acting Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan Frank Ruggiero, the minister paid tribute to the late Richard Holbrooke for his contributions towards transforming Pakistan-US relations into a long-term partnership.
He said the late special representative would be long remembered for his friendship with Pakistan.
Discussing the US Strategic Review on Afghanistan, the foreign minister said it was encouraging that the US had acknowledged successes achieved by Pakistan in containing militancy and terrorism.
He underlined that a stable and peaceful Afghanistan was in Pakistan’s strategic interest.
Qureshi said that the US review’s emphasis on development and reconciliation was noteworthy. On the Trilateral (Afghanistan-Pakistan-US) Ministerial Meeting to be held in Washington in February this year, the two sides underlined the need for full preparations with a view to achieving maximum tangible results. The two sides expressed confidence that President Asif Ali Zardari’s visit to Washington and President Barack Obama`s visit to Pakistan this year would add considerably to the process of strengthening bilateral relations taking them to new heights. Qureshi said that Pakistan attached immense importance to its relations with the US and was very much encouraged that the process was moving in the right direction. He added that the disbursement of US economic assistance to Pakistan needed to be accelerated. The two sides also discussed the next round of the Pakistan-US Strategic Dialogue to be held in Islamabad. The foreign minister said he was looking forward to extending a warm welcome to US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to Pakistan. Qureshi also raised the issue of continuing drone attacks in FATA, terming them as counter-productive. The acting special representative said he was visiting Pakistan under instructions from Secretary Hillary Clinton to convey to the people of Pakistan that the US would continue with its policy of strengthening its ties with Pakistan in all areas to the two countries’ mutual benefit. He said the signing of agreements during his visit (worth $256 million) related to the floods damage compensation fund and Satpara and Gomal Zam hydro-power projects was reflective of the US’ firm commitment to its partnership with Pakistan.
He informed the foreign minister that all efforts would be made to complete the hydro-power projects this year. Earlier, the acting special representative met with Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir. app
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk