The White House said it endorses the trip by US Senator John Kerry to Pakistan amid badly strained ties over the killing of Al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden in Abbottabad, just 40 miles from Islamabad, on May 2.
Kerry, the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations committee, will be the most senior US official to visit Islamabad since elite US troops killed bin Laden.
Kerry will press Pakistani leaders for answers on Osama bin Laden in talks this week but he will be keen to ensure Pakistani anger over the raid does not subvert vital security cooperation.
Details of Kerry’s visit have not been announced but media said he will be in Islamabad for talks on Monday. Pakistan’s parliament condemned on Saturday the US raid to find and kill bin Laden, and called for a review of US ties, warning that Pakistan could cut US supply lines to its forces in Afghanistan if there were more such attacks.
Kerry has long been seen as a friend of Pakistan but told reporters in Afghanistan at the weekend that serious questions remained after the killing of bin Laden.
The US wanted Pakistan to be a “real” ally in combating militants, and while it needed to improve its efforts, the death of bin Laden provided a critical chance to move forward, he said.
“We obviously want a Pakistan that is prepared to respect the interests of Afghanistan, and to be a real ally in our efforts to combat terrorism,” Kerry told reporters in the northern Afghan city of Mazar-i-Sharif.
“We believe there are things that can be done better,” he said. “But we’re not trying to find a way to break the relationship apart, we’re trying to find a way to build it.”
US administration divided on ties with Pakistan
The administration of US President Barack Obama is divided over the future of its relationship with Pakistan following the killing of Al-Qaeda founder Osama bin Laden, The Washington Post reported Sunday.
The newspaper said that some officials, particularly in the White House, have advocated a strong US response.
“You can’t continue business as usual,” the paper quotes one of several senior administration officials as saying who discussed the sensitive issue only on the condition of anonymity.
“You have to somehow convey to the Pakistanis that they have arrived at a big choice.
“People who were prepared to listen to (Pakistan’s) story for a long time are no longer prepared to listen,” the official went on to say.
But few officials are willing to consider the alternatives if Pakistan makes the wrong choice, the report said.
Every available option — from limiting US aid and official contacts to unleashing more unilateral ground attacks against terrorist targets — jeopardizes existing Pakistani help in the war on terror, The Post noted.
Military success and an eventual negotiated settlement of the Afghanistan war are seen as virtually impossible without some level of Pakistani assistance, the paper pointed out.
Kerry, the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations committee, will be the most senior US official to visit Islamabad since elite US troops killed bin Laden.
Kerry will press Pakistani leaders for answers on Osama bin Laden in talks this week but he will be keen to ensure Pakistani anger over the raid does not subvert vital security cooperation.
Details of Kerry’s visit have not been announced but media said he will be in Islamabad for talks on Monday. Pakistan’s parliament condemned on Saturday the US raid to find and kill bin Laden, and called for a review of US ties, warning that Pakistan could cut US supply lines to its forces in Afghanistan if there were more such attacks.
Kerry has long been seen as a friend of Pakistan but told reporters in Afghanistan at the weekend that serious questions remained after the killing of bin Laden.
The US wanted Pakistan to be a “real” ally in combating militants, and while it needed to improve its efforts, the death of bin Laden provided a critical chance to move forward, he said.
“We obviously want a Pakistan that is prepared to respect the interests of Afghanistan, and to be a real ally in our efforts to combat terrorism,” Kerry told reporters in the northern Afghan city of Mazar-i-Sharif.
“We believe there are things that can be done better,” he said. “But we’re not trying to find a way to break the relationship apart, we’re trying to find a way to build it.”
US administration divided on ties with Pakistan
The newspaper said that some officials, particularly in the White House, have advocated a strong US response.
“You can’t continue business as usual,” the paper quotes one of several senior administration officials as saying who discussed the sensitive issue only on the condition of anonymity.
“You have to somehow convey to the Pakistanis that they have arrived at a big choice.
“People who were prepared to listen to (Pakistan’s) story for a long time are no longer prepared to listen,” the official went on to say.
But few officials are willing to consider the alternatives if Pakistan makes the wrong choice, the report said.
Every available option — from limiting US aid and official contacts to unleashing more unilateral ground attacks against terrorist targets — jeopardizes existing Pakistani help in the war on terror, The Post noted.
Military success and an eventual negotiated settlement of the Afghanistan war are seen as virtually impossible without some level of Pakistani assistance, the paper pointed out.
No comments:
Post a Comment