US Secretary of State John Kerry (right) speaks with Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif at the latter’s official residence in Islamabad yesterday.
ISLAMABAD: The US and Pakistan yesterday agreed to re-establish a “full partnership”, hoping to end years of acrimony over drone strikes on Pakistani soil, the raid that killed Osama bin Laden, and other grievances.
“We are here to speak honestly with each other, openly about any gaps that may exist that we want to try to bridge,” US Secretary of State John Kerry said during an unannounced visit to Islamabad. “Our people deserve that we talk directly.”
Besides the killing of Bin Laden by US Navy Seals in 2011, ties have been strained by Pakistan’s support for Taliban insurgents fighting Western troops in Afghanistan and a Nato air attack in which 24 Pakistani soldiers were killed.
Both sides are keen to overcome grievances and start afresh, a shift in priorities they hope is possible with a new government in Pakistan and a new secretary of state in the US. With Pakistan’s economy in need of support and the US keen to smoothly withdraw most of its troops from Afghanistan next year, both sides will see positives in repairing ties.
After talks with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, Kerry said both countries were serious about overcoming irritants.
Despite tensions, the US remains Pakistan’s biggest donor, although there have been calls in Congress to cut off aid. Pakistan has seen attacks against its military and civilians by the Pakistani wing of the Taliban since Sharif was sworn in on the back of promises to talk to the insurgents rather than fight them.
Sharif’s Foreign Affairs Adviser Sartaj Aziz said the government might resort to the use of military force against the Taliban.
Kerry invited Sharif for talks with President Barack Obama — the highest-level talks since January 2011, before crises plunged ties to their lowest level.
Both sides announced the resumption of ministerial-level strategic dialogue, frozen since the US killed Bin Laden.
Nuclear-armed Pakistan has been a vital but prickly ally in the US-led war on Al Qaeda, and Kerry said it was time to move beyond ties to a full-fledged relationship.
“We do share a long-term vision of the relationship and I believe that in Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif we have someone who’s committed to try to grow that relationship.”
Pakistani support for the US-led Nato combat mission in Afghanistan has been vital, despite demands that Islamabad do more to crack down on safe havens for Afghan and foreign militants based in its northwestern tribal belt.
A major thorn in Pakistani-US relations have been drone strikes on Taliban and Al Qaeda operatives, which Islamabad condemns.
US insistence that Pakistan does more to eradicate militants has also infuriated many in the country, where the government says 40,000 people have been killed as a result of terrorism since 2001.
“Pakistan cannot realise its full economic potential until it overcomes extremists,” Kerry said.
“The choice for Pakistanis is clear: Will the forces of violent extremism be allowed to grow more dominant, eventually overpowering the moderate majority?”
But striking a diplomatic note, he said it would take a “united effort” from all countries to resolve the issues of safe havens for militants and thanked Pakistan for its assistance in albeit still stalled Afghan reconciliation efforts.
Relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan are mired in distrust. While the West has praised Pakistan’s support for peace efforts, many Afghans consider Pakistan an abettor of the Taliban.
On drone strikes, Kerry tackled complaints about “violations of sovereignty” by pointing the finger at Al Qaeda leader Ayman Al Zawahiri, believed to be based in Pakistan. “An Al Qaeda leader like Al Zawahiri is violating the sovereignty of this country. And when they attack people in mosques and blow up people in villages and market places they are violating the sovereignty of the country,” he said. Agencies
