Pakistan ambassador to US Husain Haqqani, while emphasising that Pakistan and US were not going to war said US goal of peace in Afghanistan was firmly shared by Islamabad.
“The US goal of peace in Afghanistan is firmly shared by Pakistan, but the two nations face hurdles that include anti-American sentiments in Pakistan, Haqqani told Chicago Council on Global Affairs.
Pakistan and the United States were agreed on the fact that reconciliation was something they needed to work for, he said
“A lot of times, the problem is that a very small number of people, dedicated and violent, want to impose their will by arms,” Haqqani said.
Haqqani praised comments by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to a congressional committee on Thursday that the United States was seeking negotiations with Afghan insurgents, while at the same time fighting them on the battlefield.
“Why can t we just talk to these people and get a settlement? Absolutely, we would love to do it. If you have Mullah Omar’s address, please send him a letter on our behalf to come to the table,” Haqqani said.
He said Pakistan would “do everything to facilitate discussions between all elements of the Taliban that we can reach.”
“Pakistan and the United States are not going to war,” he said. “Sometimes people forget there are unresolved issues in Pakistan,” he said, citing a societal debate about the role of religion and the nation’s decades-long struggle towards democratically elected governments. “My request to Americans is to be patient with Pakistan,” he said
Pakistan, US not going to war: Haqqani
