ISLAMABAD, Pakistan: A high level US delegation has said that the US President Barack Obama is committed to improving relations with Pakistan which again reiterated its concerns to the United States about recent drone strike in its territory.
“President Obama was committed to improving relations with Pakistan as emphasized during Prime Minister’s visit to Washington in October 2015,” Senior Adviser and Director for South Asian Affairs at the National Security Council Dr. Peter Lavoy said when he along with US Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan Ambassador Richard Olson and other US senior officials held a meeting with Pakistani top officials in Islamabad on Friday.
The talks were held between the US delegation and Adviser to the Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz and Foreign Secretary Aizaz Ahmed Chaudhry in which the two sides held candid discussions on bilateral relations, regional security situation and the Afghan peace process in the wake of May 21 drone strike in Balochistan.
Dr. Peter Lavoy also conveyed President Obama’s good wishes for Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s speedy recovery.
While conveying a strong message to the United States that the May 21 drone strike was not only a violation of Pakistan’s sovereignty and breach of the principles of the United Nation’s Charter but has also vitiated bilateral ties, Sartaj Aziz emphasized that any future drone strike in Pakistan would be detrimental to our common desire to strengthen relations.
The adviser further expressed his concern that the drone strike had seriously undermined the ongoing efforts for Afghan peace and reconciliation process at a time when Pakistan along with other Quadrilateral Coordination Group (QCG) countries was engaged in serious efforts to revive peace talks between Afghan government and the Taliban.
The foreign secretary recalled that in QCG’s fifth meeting on May 18 2016, it was decided that peace negotiations remained the only option for a political settlement. He emphasized that this would require collective efforts on the part of all QCG members to promote lasting peace in Afghanistan.
In response to US queries on safe havens for Taliban, it was emphasized that Pakistan is already pursuing its objective of eliminating all militants and terrorists from its soil in accordance with the National Action Plan.
The US delegation was told that at the same time, Pakistan would have to safeguard its own security through better border management and early repatriation of Afghan refugees.
However, the US delegation was further told that Pakistan also expects action by Afghan forces against banned terror group Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) operatives in Afghanistan as these steps would also help to promote better relations between the two countries and reduce mistrust.
