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Monday, March 28, 2011
US envoy regrets civilian casualties in Pakistan* Grossman says aim of US mission in Afghanistan, cooperation with Pakistan is protecting people, improving their lives
WASHINGTON: US Special Representative for Afghanistan and Ambassador to Pakistan, Marc Grossman, has expressed regret over the civilian casualties in Pakistan, paving the way for resolving disagreements between the two allies after a drone strike in North Waziristan on March 17 killed several tribal elders.
Grossman insisted that the object of the US mission in Afghanistan and its cooperation with Pakistan was “protecting people and improving their lives,” and “when civilians are killed, we regret it. We deeply regret it,” he added.
Grossman was speaking during a panel at the Brussels Forum, titled ‘Bridging the Trust Deficit with Pakistan,’ along with UK Defence Secretary Liam Fox and journalist Ahmed Rashid.
When asked about civilian casualties from the done strike, he stressed that he could not go into specific operations, reflecting the US policy of avoiding public discussion of drone strikes.
“I cannot discuss all the aspects of every bit of this cooperation,” he said about US-Pakistan partnership along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border.
“If the object is for protecting people and improving their lives, that is a worthwhile endeavour,” Grossman added.
Earlier, in his introductory remarks, he said, “I am not going to answer about this military problem, this military approach or that military approach. I am not even going to answer about all of the cooperation that we have with the Pakistanis.”
But Grossman said, “The purpose of the relationship is to make Pakistanis more secure, and Americans and Europeans more secure, and to make Pakistanis more prosperous, that is something we are after.” app
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk