News
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
People-to-people contact must to bridge Pak-US trust deficit: Zardari* Gilani tells US delegation Pakistan-US ties should not be confined to war against terrorism
ISLAMABAD: The cordial relations between the US and Pakistan at the government level need to be applied at the people-to-people level to bridge the trust deficit at the grassroots, President Asif Ali Zardari said on Tuesday.
Talking to a US delegation that called on him, Zardari said Pakistan appreciated the US understanding of Pakistan’s requirements and concerns in the recently-held strategic dialogue between the two countries.
The delegation, headed by Senator Jack Reed, included Senator Ted Kaufman, Senator Kay Hagan, Congressmen David Price, Stephen Lynch and Jeff Fortenberry. US Ambassador to Pakistan Anne Patterson, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Finance Adviser Abdul Hafeez Sheikh and Senator Sughra Imam were also present in the meeting.
The delegation also called on Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani at the Prime Minister’s House on Tuesday.
The prime minister expressed satisfaction over the successful fourth round of the Pakistan-US strategic dialogue held in Washington DC last week.
He hoped that the process would be carried forward with the concerted efforts of both the sides and the next round of the strategic dialogue – which would be scheduled during the next visit of US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton in Islamabad – would produce more concrete results.
War on terror: Gilani said Pakistan-US relations and ongoing cooperation should not be confined to the war against terrorism and should go beyond it on sustainable long-term relations.
The prime minister underscored the importance of reconstruction of areas cleared from the Taliban in Swat, Malakand and South Waziristan.
The premier said the role of the United States would not only help bridge the trust deficit but would also help improve the US image in Pakistan.
Prime Minister Gilani emphasised that Pakistan wanted trade and not aid and that the US Congress had an important role to play in providing greater market access to Pakistani products in their country through grant of generalised system of preference (GSP) facilities, starting negotiations on bilateral trade agreement and the passage of long delayed reconstruction opportunity zones (ROZ) legislation.
The US senators and congressmen praised Pakistan’s resolute and determined action in rooting out militancy and the menace of terrorism from the country.
They agreed with the prime minister that there was a need to further expand the scope of parliamentary exchanges and people-to-people contact to remove misperceptions on both sides. They also apprised the prime minister of a series of planed visits by US delegations to Pakistan during 2010. staff report/app
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk