ISLAMABAD: Senator Carl Levin, Chairman Armed Services Committee
called on Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani here Tuesday in which the
Senator underlined the importance of bringing back US-Pakistan
relations on even keel because both the countries were fighting a
common enemy.
The Prime Minister said that Pakistan desired a
sovereign, independent, peaceful, stable and prosperous Afghanistan,
adding that his country supported Afghan-led and Afghan-owned process
of reconciliation.
Gilani said that Pakistan was a part of the
solution and not the part of the problem and favoured three Ds namely,
Dialogue, Development and Deterrence, as the best strategy to seek out
the solution of the Afghan imbroglio.
The PM called upon both
the countries to evolve a common strategy against the common enemy
because its absence would benefit the enemy which is both coward and
callous.
The Prime Minister said, “one wonders how terrorists
dare go to Afghanistan without being eliminated by the ISAF and Nato
Forces which are equipped with the most advanced weapons.”
Gilani,
during the meeting appreciated Hilary Clinton who took stand and
supported Pakistan’s case for assistance at the time when the voices of
imposing restrictions were being raised in Washington. She wrote to the
House Foreign Committee Members that the proposed restrictions would
damage the ‘the US considered foreign policy and diplomacy.’
The
PM also referred to the telephonic exchange of views between the
Pakistan foreign Minister and Hilary Clinton in the recent past in
which they exchanged views about the ongoing discussion on the
objectives and principles of enduring partnership with Pakistan.
The
Prime Minister underscored the importance of relations between the US
and Pakistan that should go beyond terrorism and cover other areas of
bilateral relations on durable basis for the benefit of people of both
countries.
He said that Pakistan had suffered badly in the war
on terror and had rendered more sacrifices in terms of civilians and
the troops’ fatalities than the coalition partners put together.
However,
he said, the success of the military operation in Malakand Division
stands out because the nation not only defeated the terrorists but also
managed the return of more than two million IDPs within two months to
their homes with honour and dignity. Online
