Kerry demands action not words, Islamabad agrees

US Senator John Kerry warned Pakistan on Monday that “actions not words” are needed to tackle militant sanctuaries, as the two countries tried to salvage their relationship two weeks after the US raid that killed Osama bin Laden in Abbottabad. The two countries also principally agreed that they would “work together” in any future action against high-value targets in Pakistan. “Our progress in the days ahead will be measured by actions, not words,” Senator Kerry said in a televised statement here after a meeting with President Asif Zardari, Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani and Chief of Army Staff General Ashfaq Kayani.
“Ultimately, the Pakistani people will decide what kind of country Pakistan becomes, whether it is a haven for extremists or the tolerant democracy that Muhammad Ali Jinnah envisioned 64 years ago,” AFP quoted Kerry as saying. “The United States need not apologise to Pakistan for the successful raid that killed terror mastermind Osama bin Laden, but it is important that the countries find a way to mend their frayed relationship in the wake of the attack,” he said, adding that some US lawmakers believed bin Laden’s presence in Pakistan might have damaged ties with the US beyond repair. However, he said that the strategic relationship between Islamabad and Washington was too important to let go.
“I emphasised to our Pakistani friends – and they are friends – that many in Congress are raising tough questions about our ongoing economic assistance to the government of Pakistan because of the events as they unfolded, and because of the presence of Osama bin Laden in Pakistan,” he said. “The make-or-break is real. There are members of Congress who are not confident that the ties can be patched back together,” he said. Nevertheless, AFP reports, he emphasised: “We are strategic partners with a common enemy in terrorism and extremism. Both of our countries have sacrificed… so much that it just wouldn’t make sense to see this relationship broken or abandoned.”
Kerry, a Democrat who is considered to be very close to the Obama administration and who is also chairman of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said that Congress was now scrutinising Washington’s ties with its strategic ally. But he also said both nations had to find a way to restore trust between them, adding that US-Pakistan ties were “too important to be stuck speculating”.
Kerry said his goal in visiting Pakistan was to begin a process that would leave the US and Pakistan in a position where isolated episodes, no matter how profound, did not jeopardise the relationships between the two countries.
He said Secretary of State Hillary Clinton would soon announce plans to visit Pakistan. He announced that he and Pakistani leaders had agreed to a “series of steps” to improve relations, but did not specify what they were. Meanwhile, State Department Spokesman Mark Toner said Clinton would visit Pakistan for strategic talks, but no date had been set, AFP reported. He said Clinton “does plan to visit to have an in-depth strategic discussion”, adding that she would travel when she “can have those discussions in the right context and with the right preparedness”. Kerry said he understood why Pakistanis were upset at the American raid but emphasised the extraordinary circumstances behind the mission against bin Laden.
“When I spoke with the leaders of Pakistan last night and today, I explained that the extreme secrecy surrounding every aspect of the raid in Abbottabad was essential to protecting the lives of the professionals who were involved and ensuring they succeeded in capturing or killing the man responsible for so much death in so many places,” he said. But, Reuters said, Kerry noted that very few people in the White House had prior knowledge of the operation, and even General David Petraeus, commander of the war effort in Afghanistan, was informed only a few days in advance. He said that bin Laden and other foreign fighters who followed him to Pakistan from Afghanistan were the ones “who truly violated Pakistan’s sovereignty”.
The senator said he was pleased the Pakistani government had committed to exploring how increased cooperation on joint operations and intelligence sharing could “maximise our efforts to defeat the enemies we face”. Kerry also announced that Pakistan had agreed to return the tail of a stealth US helicopter that American commandos had to destroy during the bin Laden raid because it malfunctioned. He said the gesture was among a number of steps both countries had agreed to take to rebuild shattered relations.He said Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) chief Leon Panetta and US Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan Marc Grossman would soon visit Pakistan to expand on the work.
The vital agreement on working together to take out high value targets was reached after hectic consultations between Kerry and the top Pakistani leadership. “Kerry plainly told the Pakistani leaders, who were all under one roof to meet the influential US lawmaker, that either they would have to cooperate more with the US to curb terrorism or face an end to American aid,” said a senior official here privy to the consultations. Prior to the latest agreement with the US, Pakistan had always opposed the presence of US military personnel on its soil and kept saying that no US boots would be allowed on its territory.
However, the agreement on working together against terrorists clearly reflects that Pakistan has softened its stance and instead of facing unilateral US actions, it has opted for working with the US. Presidential Spokesman Farhatullah Babar said that the meeting lasted for over two hours, at the end of which a joint statement was issued by the US Embassy in Islamabad and the Presidency.
The statement said that the president, PM and the army chief had a constructive exchange of views with Senator Kerry, who said it was important “to press the reset button” in US-Pakistan relations and use this opportunity to put the relations back on track.
The Pakistani leadership conveyed to Senator Kerry that Pakistan was a victim of terrorism and that the whole nation was united in eliminating this curse from its soil. Bin Laden was an enemy of Pakistan and al Qaeda had declared war on Pakistan and launched wave after wave of suicide attacks against its people, said the statement. The Pakistani leadership said the country was now being hit by a spate of terrorist attacks to avenge bin Laden’s killing. Pakistan-US relations should go forward on the basis of mutual respect, trust and interests, it said. The Pakistani leadership made it clear that the country’s sovereignty and national interests must be respected and accommodated by the US.
It was agreed that both US and Pakistan must recognise and respect each other’s national interests, particularly in countering terrorism and in working together for promoting reconciliation and peace in Afghanistan. Pakistan’s leadership welcomed the clear affirmation by Senator Kerry that US policy had no designs against Pakistan’s nuclear and strategic assets. Senator Kerry stated that he was prepared to personally affirm such a guarantee. In furtherance of its existing commitment to fight terrorism, Pakistan agreed to take several immediate steps to underscore its seriousness in renewing the full cooperative effort with the US.
It was agreed that the two sides would intensify their engagement through official channels and that negative media messages were misplaced and detrimental to the core national interests of both US and Pakistan. Clinton also made a telephone call to Gilani during the meeting and he left to speak with her for 20 minutes. The PM mentioned the meeting with Senator Kerry and told her that they had discussed all issues of bilateral relations. Gilani suggested setting up a joint mechanism and strategy so that the Pakistan government could assume ownership of the war and could tell its people that Pakistan and the US were fighting a common enemy. He said the US operation had led to some mistrust and misunderstanding. Relations between the two countries were affected by messages from the US side, and the mistrust had to be removed, he added.
The PM told Clinton that while Pakistan was committed and had the resolve to fight extremism and terrorism, there were some irritants in the relationship which needed to be addressed. He said Senator Kerry would brief her in this regard after the meeting. The PM also mentioned the resumption of a composite dialogue with India and said that it was heading in the right direction and Pakistan did not want it to be derailed in the interest of progress and prosperity of the people of the region. Clinton told Gilani about the forthcoming visit of Grossman and CIA Deputy Director Mark Morrel. This interaction, she said, would help develop better understanding.
The US senator made clear that any Pakistani inquiry into how bin Laden managed to evade notice by the ISI or the military for years would be fact-checked against intelligence gathered by Navy SEALs at his compound. “We have a treasure trove of information that has been made available,” he said. Defence Minister Ahmad Mukhtar, Interior Minister Rehman Malik, Senator Syeda Sughra Imam, Foreign Affairs Secretary Salman Bashir, the defence secretary, interior secretary, Pakistan’s Ambassador to the US Hussain Haqqani, US Ambassador to Pakistan Cameron Munter and other senior officers also attended the meeting.