Kerry sees realisation of gains in Pakistan

Acknowledging that Pakistan has suffered grievously from terrorist attacks in recent years, influential American Senator John Kerry has noted that serious policy makers in Islamabad and Washington realize that both countries stand to gain more from finding a middle ground on contentious issues and cooperative ties.
“It’s no secret that last year was a very challenging one in our relationship in the U.S.-Pakistan axis,” he noted at the confirmation hearing for US ambassador-designate to Pakistan Richard Olson. The senator, who chairs the Senate Foreign Relations Committee was frank in noting that “many Pakistanis believe that America will simply once again abandon the region as we did after the fall of the Soviet Union.” Continuing, he claimed, this “is one reason why Pakistan continues to hedge its bets and rely on certain insurgent groups for strategic depth.”
Islamabad has rejected such suggestions, saying it has no desire to treat Afghanistan ad Pakistan’s strategic backyard and that it does not seek to hedge on any group for influence in Western neighbor, wracked by years of wars, conflicts and insurgencies. Kerry also hinted at the two-way cross-border activities by militants in Pakistan and Afghanistan. “The result has been a counterproductive back and forth—point and counterpoint—that undermines what really ought to be a more cooperative relationship – and we see that in today’s newspaper stories about accusations regarding Afghanistan-based insurgent initiatives in Pakistan.” The US strategy on Afghanistan, the former Democratic presidential candidate said, “has to continue to reflect the interconnectedness of the region’s challenges—from Central Asia and Iran to India and Pakistan.”
“As I have said a number of times before, but I believe it even more so now, that what happens in the region, in the region as a whole, will do more to determine the outcome in Afghanistan than any shift in strategy. Pakistan, in particular, remains central to that effort.” The seasoned lawmaker welcomed the fact that recent developments with Pakistan have led to the re-opening of critical NATO supply lines. “Despite many of our frustrations and setbacks, serious policymakers on both sides understand that we have more to gain by finding common ground and working together on areas of mutual concern— and those are clearly from fighting terrorism to facilitating economic development. “I think we also need to point out that Pakistan has suffered grievously at the hands of al Qaeda, the Taliban and affiliated terrorist groups. Some 38,000 Pakistani citizens and more than 6,000 Pakistani army and security forces have died from terrorist incidents since 2001. Pakistan is also facing a massive economic and energy crisis, and political infighting and election-year politics complicate efforts to address deteriorating situations and none us are unfamiliar with those kinds of dynamics even here at home.