As the US sought facilitation from Pakistan for a ‘meaningful dialogue’ with the Haqqani network on Thursday, Islamabad plainly demanded Washington address its concerns about growing Indian influence in Afghanistan and stop public messaging, which it said was detrimental to relations between the two countries.
In what is being seen as a major shift in US policy vis-à-vis the Haqqani network, allegedly based in North Waziristan, the Obama administration’s Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan Marc Grossman, in his meetings here with Pakistan’s top civilian and military leaders, asked for Islamabad’s assistance to facilitate peace talks with the Haqqanis.
There have been secret contacts between Islamabad and Washington for talks with the Haqqani network on two occasions in the past, and Pakistan obliged the US and helped it reach out to the Haqqani network both times, but this is the first time a senior American diplomat has formally asked Pakistan to help reach out to the influential militant group.
Grossman started his daylong trip to Islamabad with separate meetings with Chief of Army Staff General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani and Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani. He then called on Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar and finally went to the Presidency to see President Asif Ali Zardari.
In a related important development, General John Allen, Commander of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), also called on General Kayani to discuss bilateral ties and the Afghanistan situation. “He (Grossman) was informed in detail about Pakistan’s concerns regarding increasing influence of India in Afghanistan and especially the recent agreement between New Delhi and Kabul on strategic partnership,” said a Pakistani diplomat privy to discussions in the high-level talks, held for the first time since the eruption of a serious Pakistan-US row over harsh statements from Washington against the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), blaming it for exporting terrorism to Afghanistan.
He said Pakistani leaders told Grossman that once Islamabad’s concerns about India in the context of Afghanistan were addressed, Islamabad would facilitate meaningful talks with the Haqqani network. The Pakistani leaders also demanded withdrawal of the US decision to suspend military aid to Pakistan and also the smooth extension of the Coalition Support Fund (CSF).
ZARDARI: In his meeting with the US envoy, President Zardari expressed Pakistan’s displeasure with what he called “verbal assaults” on the part of senior US officials against Islamabad, questioning its commitment in the fight against terrorism. The president said that only helped the cause of terrorists and undermined the bilateral ties between Islamabad and Washington.
According to Presidential Spokesman Farhatullah Babar, the president said: “Pakistan supports all efforts for regional peace, prosperity and connectivity, 0based on existing realities of the region and the relations between the two countries must not be transactional but based on a long-term partnership and resting on the foundations of mutual respect and shared interests.” The president stressed on following the clearly defined, well documented and mutually agreed terms of engagement between the two countries which he said was necessary to avoid operational irritants that hamper the relationship.
“In this context the president said any public messaging that tended to undermine this bedrock of the relationship shrank political space for the democratic government,” Babar quoted the president as saying. The president called for exercising mutual restraints in public pronouncements that adversely impacted the bilateral relationship. He also emphasised the need to develop a cooperative and joint roadmap to overcome the trust deficit between the two countries. He said the enemies of peace would continue to sabotage the peace process but “we should not let the non-state actors hold hostage the governments in the region”.
“Ironically the militants and terrorists gained the most from verbal assaults and finger-pointing at Pakistan or questioning our commitment to fighting the extremists,” the president said, adding that it only damaged the relationship between the two countries and undermined the common objective of defeating extremism and terrorism. The president said slain former Afghan president Burhanuddin Rabbani was a friend of Pakistan and an honest and serious interlocutor and termed his assassination as an attempt to sabotage the peace and reconciliation process.
However, he expressed surprised at the reaction in Kabul in the wake of Rabbani’s assassination. The president said despite negative propaganda against Pakistan, Pakistan was committed to regional peace and had decided to attend the forthcoming trilateral summit of Afghanistan, Pakistan and Turkey in Istanbul next month that was aimed at peace and stability in the region.
GILANI: In his meeting with Grossman, Prime Minister Gilani said the relationship between Pakistan and the US must go beyond coordination on counter-terrorism. According to an official statement, Gilani expressed the resolve of the government and the people of Pakistan to fight extremism and terrorism in their totality.
A separate statement issued here by the US embassy said: “US Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan Ambassador Marc Grossman reaffirmed the US commitment to a long-term, enduring partnership with Pakistan and its people in Islamabad today.”
KHAR: At a joint press conference after their meeting earlier at the Foreign Office, Khar and Grossman said Pakistan and the United States agreed to continue their dialogue process and vowed to carry on strategic dialogue mechanism as it was in the interest of both countries.
Pakistan to US: If you want your way, keep India away
