News
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
US, Pakistan to cooperate on terror targets* Both sides will revisit all tracks of bilateral engagement
* Agree to recognise and respect each other’s national interests
* Vow to intensify bilateral engagement through official channels
* Pakistan promises to take immediate steps to show its seriousness in war on terror
* US assures it has no designs against Pak nukes
Staff Report
ISLAMABAD: Having resolved some of the puzzles lingering since Osama bin Laden was finally killed after a decade-long hunt in Abbottabad, Pakistan and the United States – the two allies in the fight against terror – on Monday agreed to work together in any future actions against high value targets in Pakistan.
At a high-level meeting aimed to de-escalate the brewing mistrust, Pakistan’s civil and military leadership – President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani and Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani – and top US diplomat John Kerry had a constructive exchange of views on the situation arising from the Abbottabad operation and the death of the al Qaeda leader.
The two sides agreed that all tracks of the US-Pakistan engagement needed to be revisited with a view to creating a clear understanding on ways and means to carry forward their cooperation in a mutually beneficial manner, said a joint statement issued by the two countries at the end of the meeting at the Presidency in Islamabad.
It was agreed that both the US and Pakistan must recognise and respect each other’s national interests, particularly in countering terrorism and in working together for promoting reconciliation and peace in Afghanistan. The two sides agreed on intensifying their engagement through official channels, and observed that negative media messages were misplaced and detrimental to the core national interests of both the countries.
In furtherance of its existing commitment to fight terrorism, Pakistan agreed to take several immediate steps to underscore its seriousness in renewing the full cooperative effort with the United States.
Pakistani leadership emphasised that the US-Pakistan relation should go forward on the basis of mutual respect, trust and interest. It made it clear to the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman that Pakistan’s sovereignty and national interests must be respected and accommodated by America.
Kerry told the troika that the secrecy surrounding the Abbottabad operation was strictly for reasons of operational security and not due to mistrust of Pakistan’s leadership. “Even in the US government, very few persons knew about it,” he added.
The US dignitary further said that it was important to press the “reset button” in the US-Pakistan relations and use this opportunity to put the relations back on track and work jointly to bring about the most effective cooperation to combat terrorism, which is in both the countries’ interest.
Pakistani leadership told the US senator that Pakistan was a victim of terrorism and that the whole nation was united in eliminating this curse from its soil. They informed him that the country was now being hit by a spate of terrorist attacks which were blowback from the elimination of bin Laden.
The leadership also welcomed the clear affirmation by Kerry that US policy had no designs against Pakistan’s nuclear and strategic assets. Kerry, who was accompanied by US Ambassador to Pakistan Cameron Munter, stated that he was prepared to personally affirm such a guarantee.
The US diplomat noted that senior US officials would visit Pakistan soon to have further discussions on the way forward and to complete preparatory work for Secretary of State Clinton’s visit to Pakistan in the near future. According to the presidential spokesman, Farhatullah Babar, the meeting lasted for over two hours.
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk