Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir said on Friday that drone attacks were not beneficial to either the United States (US) or Pakistan, and that there was a disagreement on this issue between the two countries, a private TV channel reported on Friday.
“The US should review its drone policy,” Bashir told reporters after a meeting with the US Special Envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan Marc Grossman at the Pakistan Embassy in Washington.
“The US and Pakistan don’t necessarily have to agree over each point. There will be ten different meetings between the two countries in the next two months,” said Grossman. Grossman also condemned the killing of 14 soldiers in Pakistan.
Meanwhile, the US and Pakistan reaffirmed their commitment to a wide-ranging strategic partnership, as the foreign secretary and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton met during Pakistan-US steering group discussions at the State Department.
Pakistan’s Ambassador to the US Husain Haqqani told reporters that Clinton had said the two countries should “work and succeed together”. Clinton’s appearance in the meeting reflected the level of the US’ commitment to the important relationship, he said.
In a sign of continued commitment to sustaining the strategic partnership – while at the same time addressing differences in approaching issues – US Special Representative for Pakistan and Afghanistan Marc Grossman will visit Pakistan next week. Bashir was assured by US officials that Washington stood for the stability of Pakistan, as a stable Pakistan was in the interests of everyone, including the US.
“We also underscored the importance of a peaceful and stable Afghanistan,” Haqqani said about the discussions. Both sides “shared their strategic vision” at a meeting of the steering group – led by Bashir and Grossman – as they met to stress common objectives for the anti-terrorism campaign’s success, Haqqani said.
