News
Sunday, October 09, 2011
Pak cooperation vital to US security, says White House* Carney acknowledges disagreements on some issues
* State Dept says US not orchestrating anti-Pakistan campaignWASHINGTON: The United States believes Pakistan’s cooperation remains vital for American national security even as it has issues at times with the key South Asian country, White House said amid reports of improved counter terror collaboration between the two sides.
“The cooperation we have with Pakistan is extremely important in terms of our national security objectives, in terms of protecting Americans, in terms of taking the fight to Al Qaeda, and that’s why we continue to work with the Pakistanis and try to build on that cooperation,” Jay Carney, President Obama’s spokesman said.
The White House press secretary was responding to a question at a daily briefing in the backdrop of latest strains in US-Pakistan ties, appearing after Washington’s assertions that Pakistani security organisations backed Afghan militant Haqqani group’s activities in Afghanistan.
Islamabad has strongly rejected any such assertions.
On Friday, National Intelligence Director James Clapper said in an interview that the intelligence and security organisations of the two countries were rebuilding their ties and revealed that Islamabad had captured five al Qaeda suspects.
At the briefing, Carney noted the United States - which has relied on Pakistan for enforcing security along the porous Afghan border as well as for transporting NATO and US supplies to landlocked Afghanistan in the decade-old conflict - has an ‘important’ relationship with Pakistan.
“We have had enormous successes through our cooperation with Pakistan,” the spokesman said, echoing President Obama’s remarks at a press conference on Thursday that the US could not have succeeded in crushing al Qaeda in Pakistan-Afghanistan border region without Islamabad’s cooperation.
However, Carney’s comments also acknowledged disagreements existing on some issues between the two anti-terror partners.
“We have also made clear that we have issues with Pakistan at times, and that it is a complicated relationship. And I think the president addressed that very clearly and fully yesterday at his press conference.”
The United States has denied that it is orchestrating an anti-Pakistan campaign with a series of recent statements, saying it is only trying to make the case for cooperative efforts against terrorist threat.
“We obviously reject that completely,” State Department spokesperson Victoria Nuland said in response to a question about negative perceptions created in Pakistan by a series of statements emanating from Washington, particularly the controversial claims made by retired Admiral Mike Mullen to the extent of Pakistani contacts with the Haqqani Afghan militants.
“We believe and we are trying to make the case to the Pakistani people, as well as to Pakistani leaders, that only working together are we going to defeat this threat to both of us,” she clarified, as the US sought progress on ending the decade-old conflict in Afghanistan.
Islamabad has strongly rejected assertions that it’s security agencies back Afghan militants for attacks inside Afghanistan, where 10 years after the war, the ground situation remains unclear in the face of continuing Taliban insurgency.
The United States is also trying to make it better known in Pakistan about all of the civilian assistance given in an effort to strengthen democracy, education system, economy “because that is also one of the best deterrents to extremism,” Nuland noted.
Washington, the spokesperson said, has an “intense relationship” with Pakistan on a number of issues, including counter-terrorism docket and noted that the secretary of state, the secretary of defence, the head of the CIA had all been in contact in recent weeks with their Pakistani counterparts.
She also referred to special envoy Marc Grossman’s imminent visit to Islamabad.
“We are going to continue working on counter terrorism together because it is in our both of interests.” app
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk