ISLAMABAD – Pakistan on Monday underscored the importance that Islamabad and the US must “candidly” share views on significant issues to deepen the mutual understanding, saying that “isolated incidents must not be allowed to impact the bilateral relations”.
President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani conveyed this message to US Special Representative on Pakistan and Afghanistan Marc Grossman in their separate meetings.
Grossman spent a busy day in the federal capital while lobbying for an immediate release of Raymond Davis – the US citizen who killed two Pakistanis in Lahore. He also held meetings with army chief General Ashfaq Kayani, Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif and Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Hina Rabbani Khar to press for the release of Davis but was told by the Pakistan government that the matter would be taken up in the court.
During his meeting with the US special envoy, President Zardari said Pakistan and the US needed to “remain focused” on pursuing long-term strategic ties, without being swayed by “misperceptions and some isolated incidents” that might be used by some to increase tensions and mistrust between the people of the two countries. “Weakening of the [Pak-US] relations is not an option for the two countries. We have to find ways and means to find acceptable solutions to all problems,” president’s spokesman quoted Zardari as telling Grossman.
