ISLAMABAD : Pakistan and United States have agreed to recognize
and respect each other’s national interests,
particularly in countering terrorism and in working together for promoting
reconciliation and peace in Afghanistan.
This was said in a joint communiqué issued from the Foreign Office after the
meetings of Chairman US Senate Foreign Relations Committee Senator John Kerry
with President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister syed yousuf raza gilani and
Chief of the Army Staff General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani.
The statement says that the leaders have had a constructive exchange of views
with Senator John Kerry.
The situation arising from the Abbottabad Operation and the death of Osama
Bin Laden was discussed at length. Senator Kerry conveyed that the secrecy
surrounding the operation was strictly for reasons of operational security and
not of mistrust of Pakistani Leadership.
He said even in the US Government, very few persons knew about it. Senator
John Kerry said that it was important to press the “reset button” in 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 countries’ interest.
The Pakistani leadership conveyed to Senator Kerry that Pakistan was a victim
of terrorism and that the whole nation was united in eliminating this curse from
its soil. Osama Bin Laden was an enemy of Pakistan and the Al-Qaida had declared
war against Pakistan and launched wave after wave of suicide attacks against its
people. Pakistan was now being hit by a spate of terrorist attacks, which were
blowback from the elimination of Osama Bin Laden. Pakistan-US relations should
go forward on the basis of mutual respect, mutual trust and mutual interest.
Pakistani leadership made clear that Pakistan’s sovereignty and national
interests must be respected and accommodated by the US.
It was agreed that all tracks of US-Pakistan engagement need 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. It was also agreed that the
two countries will work together in any future actions against high value
targets in Pakistan.
Pakistan’s leadership welcomed the clear affirmation by Senator Kerry that US
policy has no designs against Pakistan’s nuclear and strategic assets. Senator
Kerry stated that he was prepared to personally affirm such a guarantee. 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.
Senator Kerry noted that senior US officials will 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.
It was also agreed that the two sides would intensify their engagement
through official channels and that negative media messages were misplaced and
detrimental to the core national interests of both US and Pakistan. SANA
