WASHINGTON: The US on Tuesday pledged close strategic consultations with Pakistan on plans for the high-stakes region along the Pak-Afghan border.
The pledge came after a meeting between US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi at the State Department – marking the formal start of a three-way American policy review that also includes Afghanistan. Pakistani, Afghan and US diplomats will continue review discussions over Wednesday and Thursday as part of the US policy review for South Asian.
Appearing jointly with the top US diplomat after discussions, Qureshi assured the Obama administration of Islamabad’s determination to fight terrorism and extremism.
“I was very pleased to welcome the (foreign) minister and his delegation here to the State Department. As you know, we are consulting very closely with the government of Pakistan on our strategic review of our way forward,” said Hillary.
“And there is a very open and fully consultative process which we will be working on, and many of these issues will be discussed among us,” she said when asked if the deployment of additional 17,000 troops in Afghanistan would push the Taliban further into Pakistan. Hillary thanked Qureshi for his ‘counsel and advice’ and looked forward to further exchange of views this week.
Qureshi described his meeting with Hillary as ‘excellent’.
Convergence: “There’s a convergence between us, there’s a willingness to work together, and I see a lot of hope in the new US administration, the new leadership. And Pakistan is willing to work with the American administration to fight extremism and terrorism. We are determined to defeat terrorism,” said Qureshi.
Earlier, the foreign minister also met Senator John Kerry – chairman of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
Drones: In an interview with the AP news agency, Qureshi said the US should provide drones to Pakistan to target the Taliban in the rugged terrain along the Afghan border. agencies
Daily Times (Pakistan)
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