U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton called Thursday for
the resumption of a full range of formal contacts with Pakistan after
its parliament completes a review of strained ties between the two
countries.
At a meeting on the sidelines of an international
conference on Somalia in London, Clinton outlined to Pakistani Foreign
Minister Hina Rabbani Khar a series of steps the U.S. would like to see
once the review has been completed.
Clinton, speaking to reporters, called the meeting a "constructive discussion of our common concerns."
"I'm
sure we will continue to have our ups and downs," she said. "But this
relationship is too important to turn our back on — for both nations."
A
senior U.S. official said those steps include visits by top American
diplomats, including the special representative for Afghanistan and
Pakistan, Marc Grossman, Deputy Secretary of State Thomas Nides and the
administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development, Rajiv
Shah, along with a return to three-way talks between the U.S., Pakistan
and Afghanistan.
Pakistan declined a visit by Grossman earlier this year.
The
official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe the private
meeting, said the U.S. would respect the parliamentary review but wanted
to prepare for a return to "structured conversations" once the review
is complete. Clinton, the official said, wanted "to get ready to get
back into business with Pakistan." A vote on the review is expected in
mid-March.
U.S.-Pakistan ties have been troubled for some time,
mainly over alleged Pakistani support for Islamist extremists, but
deteriorated badly in in November when U.S. airstrikes accidentally
killed 24 Pakistani soldiers at two Afghan border posts, fueling an
already pervasive anti-American sentiment throughout the country.
That
incident sparked the parliamentary review, which is aimed at producing a
new set of guidelines for the bilateral relationship that could pave
the way for repairing relations. AP
