News
Sunday, January 29, 2012
Sherry seeks Pakistani-Americans’ support on Pak-US ties
WASHINGTON: In her first public engagement since assuming office two weeks ago, Pakistan's Ambassador in Washington Sherry Rehman reached out to Pakistani-Americans to seek their support towards better Pakistan-US relations, which she underscored, must be based on "mutual respect, interests and shared values”.
"This embassy is not going to work alone in Washington. It is going to work with many ambassadors, which are yourselves to attempt to change the way this important bilateral relationship works," Ambassador Sherry Rehman said.
Speaking about Pakistan-US relations, the ambassador said the relationship between Pakistan and the US has never been as important, yet the tensions have never been so serious, adding that repeated episodes in recent times undermined the bilateral ties.
She informed the gathering of Pakistani-Americans that it is for the first time in the history of the country that a comprehensive parliamentary review is underway to establish new principles for this relationship.
“The review will reflect a multi-partisan parliamentary consensus and the support of the Pakistani people. Pakistan speaks today as one united voice, including the government and the people, and will have one united policy toward the United States,” she said.
This is an opportunity to reset this relationship in a transparent, consistent and predictable manner, the ambassador remarked.
"Our friends in the US must know that our sacrifices in the war on terror are greater than those of any other international or NATO coalition partner in Afghanistan," she said.
"We would prefer to be economic and political partners and not just battlefield allies," she said.
Sherry observed that Islamabad is committed to pluralism in Pakistan, but faces daunting obstacles, many of which have to do with the tide of extremism roiling the region.
One of Ambassador Rehman' s priorities would be the formation of a Pakistan-American leadership caucus, which would serve as the main vehicle for strategic interventions to build a new relationship with the US and to promote the new Pakistan.
She would also be initiating a new cultural outreach programme to showcase the "real Pakistan".
The ambassador would encourage and motivate the younger generation of Pakistani-Americans to become "tomorrow's leaders", who are integrated in political, economic and social cultures of both countries.
Especially, she assured members from all religious communities hailing from Pakistan that the embassy in Washington and its consulates general would always welcome them and their empowerment was in fact their mission’s empowerment.
Paying homage to former premier Benazir Bhutto, Sherry said that "her iconic figure" always inspired her to serve the nation to the best of her own ability.
She said she was honoured that President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani had entrusted her with such a challenging task at one of the most critical and sensitive times in the Pakistan-US relationship.
Around 200 representatives of the Pakistani-American community from Washington DC and the tri-state area attended the event. appCourtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk