A US Congressional delegation, which reached Islamabad on Thursday amidst fresh tensions between Islamabad and Washington over recently introduced resolution in American Congress seeking sovereignty for Baloch people, declared that the two major US political parties – the Republicans and the Democrats – as well as the Obama administration were against the resolution and did not support Balochistan’s independence.
The delegation, led by Congressman David Dreier, has visited Pakistan after months of strained bilateral relations, which started with the US raid in Abbottabad on May 2 last year, and reached the lowest ebb in November when NATO aircraft bombed two Pakistani border posts that killed 24 soldiers.
The delegation’s visit was planned ahead of the introduction of a non-binding resolution last week in the House of Representatives by US lawmaker Dana Rohrabacher, stating that the Baloch people living in Pakistan, Iran and Afghanistan, have the right to self-determination and to their own sovereign country. The resolution, nonetheless, complicated the work for the visiting congressmen, who arrived on a damage control exercise.
“On Balochistan, the congressmen categorically stated that both the Republicans and the Democrats as well as the US government were against the resolution tabled by an individual at the sub-committee level. US supported Pakistan’s security and territorial integrity, the congressmen said,” according to an official statement released on Thursday.
The prime minister plainly told the congressmen that the United States must respect Pakistan’s independence, the statement said. “The people of Pakistan expect the US to be mindful and respectful of Pakistan’s national interests and in particular Pakistan’s security and territorial integrity,” the statement quoted the prime minister as saying. The congressmen agreed with the prime minister that the trust deficit should be removed and that the US Congress and Pakistan’s parliamentarians could play an important role in this regard.
A Pakistani official, who sought anonymity, said that Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani had also conveyed to the congressmen Pakistan’s deep annoyance over the resolution on Balochistan in the US Congress, while observing that such acts would not help the ongoing efforts by both sides to repair the damaged ties.
The congressmen assured the prime minister that they would convey Pakistan’s concerns over the resolution to their fellow lawmakers after returning to Washington, the official said. “They also told the prime minister that they don’t support the independence of Balochistan,” he said.
According to the statement, the congressmen expressed support for the government’s policy aimed at economic development, addressing the needs of education, health and providing employment to the people of the country.
They also agreed that trade, not aid, was the way forward to economic development, and promotion of education and poverty alleviation would help in combating the root causes of extremism and terrorism.
The prime minister said that Pakistan wanted to have excellent relations with the US, and that it was important to follow a partnership based on mutual interest and mutual respect.
Gilani reminded that Pakistan had made numerous sacrifices in the US-led war against terror. “The whole nation is united and the democratic government has given political ownership to the anti-terrorism campaign,” he said.
The prime minister emphasised that the use of military in Afghanistan does not provide a permanent solution. “Pakistan, therefore, supported the political process leading to political settlement in Afghanistan,” he said, adding that it was important that Afghanistan, Pakistan and the US were on the same page and worked together to promote national reconciliation, peace and stability in Afghanistan.
The prime minister drew the attention of the congressmen to unilateral actions such as drone strikes, and called them “unacceptable and counter-productive”.
Earlier, the US delegation also called on Senate Chairman Farooq H Naek, who called for restoring friendly bilateral relations. “We desire to maintain good relations with the US based on mutual trust and shared interests. Though our relation is passing through challenging times, but we should work together in unison to see that irritants hampering our relations should be removed as early as possible.”
Naek said that because of last year’s incidents like the Raymond Davis case, NATO attacks on Pakistani border posts, the resolution on Balochistan as well as the negative narratives published by the US media, the people of Pakistan had become extremely concerned about the nature of their country’s relations with the US.
Talking about the resolution on Balochistan, Congressman David clarified that wide ranging views exist in the US on various issues, and the said resolution by a Sub-Committee chairman does not represent the view of the US government and Congress.
“I want to convey to the people of Pakistan and the government of Pakistan that the US is committed to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Pakistan. We do not support independent Balochistan and only support united Pakistan. We support strong, vibrant civilian government and in favour of continuity of democratic process in Pakistan,” he said.
The US delegation included Congressmen James Moran, Joe Wilson, Adrian Smith, Kenny Merchant, and Father Patrick Conroy among other senior officials.
