Expansion of US presence part of long term engagement: foreign minister

[Naveed Yaseen]

ISLAMABAD (September 14 2009): Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi has said the expansion of US presence was part of its long-term engagement with Pakistan. In an exclusive interview with private TV channel, Qureshi said that when the issue came up, he advised the authorities of the US embassy in Islamabad to tell the people of Pakistan and the Pakistani media. Everything about the US embassy should be transparent, he said.

"They accepted my suggestion and held a detailed press briefing," he said, adding that there were some exaggerations, nonetheless. These plans need to be seen in light of how important Pakistan's contribution has become, he said. Nato forces have been in Afghanistan for eight years.

But they have failed to achieve the results they wanted. Also, the approach of the democratic government of Pakistan towards these issues is quite different. "We are talking with more confidence. A general can't do (this) with his uniform, we are taking bold decisions." For example, the US has tripled Pakistan's assistance in a bill passed by the Senate and Congress.

"Thinking about Pakistan at an international level has changed," he said. The international community has seen what the present democratic government has achieved in one and a half year. "So many bars have been removed." The world now realises the importance and positive role Pakistan has played to bring peace to the region and fight the war against extremists.

Pakistan is also keeping good relations with Afghanistan. There is no tension between the two countries as it was during Pervez Musharraf's tenure. Similarly, relations with China are long-term and very warm and cordial. President Asif Ali Zardari visited China four times in one year. Pakistan also has cordial relations with Saudi Arabia.

Pakistan is ready to talk on terrorism with India and there is a need to develop confidence between the two countries, he said. Pakistan is ready to talk with India either on a bilateral level or through a third country as arbitrator.

At one point when US President Barack Obama talked about some issue between Pakistan and India, India strongly reacted and said that both countries would resolve their issues bilaterally and there was no need for involvement of any third country.

But on the issue of the Mumbai attacks, India went to other countries, Qureshi said while referring to Indian Home Minister P. Chidambaram's recent visit to Washington. Even so, if they want to involve the US, we have no objection and we are ready to talk, Qureshi clarified. We can't ignore important issues between India and Pakistan, he said. We also have reservations on the water issue. There is the Indus water treaty between India and Pakistan but India has violated it. We also want to talk on issues such as Sir Creek, Siachin.

But Pakistan will not withdraw on the Kashmir issue as the people of Pakistan have sacrificed their lives for the cause. To a question, he said that Indian scientists questioned the validity of Pakistan's nuclear tests. If India takes advantage of it and goes for another test, we will not become a part of the race. We will not have tit for tat. We have no detailed information about it. But Pakistan will come up with its own policy, keeping national interest in mind, he stressed.

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