Sherry says Pak-US ties defined by mutual respect

Relations between Pakistan and the US have moved forward from a recent rocky phase as the two sides have restored multifaceted cooperation, Ambassador to the US Sherry Rehman said on Tuesday, while she also debunked the notion that Islamabad was in “quiet complicity” over American drone operations in the Tribal Areas.
Questioned about Pakistan-US ties in the wake of John Kerry’s taking over as the country’s top diplomat, Sherry said she looked forward to working with the new secretary of state and other officials of the Obama administration on taking the relationship forward.
The Pakistani envoy in Washington was speaking to reporters at the Christian Science Monitor Breakfast.
To a question on the thorny issue of US drone strikes in Pakistani Tribal Areas, Sherry reiterated Islamabad’s position that they were counterproductive, and a direct violation of the country’s sovereignty and international laws. “Drone operations also fuel militancy,” she added.
“There has been no quiet complicity, no question of wink and nod,” she said, rejecting the suggestion that Pakistan was publicly criticising the drone operations while privately it allowed the US to carry out the unpopular strikes.
“We have been working together to degrade and destroy al Qaeda ranks, while we move towards diminishing al Qaeda ranks in our region, the time for drone strikes is over.”
Fielding a series of questions on the subject, she said drones, as precision anti-terror tools, might have some efficacy, but Pakistan did not see them as operationally productive the way they were used.
She argued that the use of US drones on Pakistani soil gave the impression that the fight against terrorism was the United States’ fight and not Pakistan’s and that these operations also cast a negative light on the US.
Regarding the overall state of bilateral relations, she said, the two countries have “come a long way” since 2011 and early 2012 strains and mistrust and looked forward to advancing bilateral ties “defined by confidence, trust and mutual respect”.
“I am happy to report now that the relationship is now on a stable and, we hope, uphill trajectory, and our expectations are clearly articulated to each other,” she said.
Sherry said Pakistan and the US had mutual goals of stabilising the region and working together to forging peace and stability in South and Central Asia as well as Pakistan, especially Afghanistan, “a task that is daunting, but must be driven by Kabul totally taking the lead”.
“We look forward to engaging the US as a new democracy,” she said as Pakistan progressed towards a peaceful political transition with the completion of the constitutionally mandated term of the democratically elected government.
The envoy noted that Islamabad and Washington had revived cooperation and were now working at the institutional level in wide-ranging areas of common interest to both, including law enforcement, economy, finance, strategic stability, counterterrorism energy and defence.
The Pakistani envoy stressed the importance of developing a long-lasting bilateral relationship, which should not be confined to issues like cooperation in the ongoing transition in neighbouring Afghanistan.
“We are looking forward to a relationship that is defined by confidence, trust and mutual respect and investment in each other, as nations not just as states, to grow together.”
She said in the regional perspective, Pakistan was pivoting for regional peace and productive engagement with neighbours to foster stability and that the country’s relations with other countries including the US were moving forward in accordance with parliamentary guidelines.
In her wide-ranging interaction with senior American journalists, Sherry renewed Islamabad’s commitment to supporting an Afghan-led reconciliation. “Pakistan is using its political and diplomatic resources to support an Afghan-led drive,” adding that Afghan Taliban prisoners were being released in response to Kabul’s demands.
“At the same time Islamabad has made clear that it cannot guarantee the outcome and it is the Afghans themselves who have to decide on their future.”
Sherry also voiced some of Pakistan’s legitimate anxieties regarding the transition in Afghanistan, saying Islamabad wanted the exit to proceed in a responsible manner, so that the region did not revert to chaos and unrest as it did 30 years ago.
“This would have serious repercussions for Pakistan, which has been hit by years of militant attacks and has had to contend with an influx of narcotics, guns and militancy since that encounter.”
In reference to millions of Afghans still living in Pakistan since they migrated in the wake of 1979 Soviet invasion of their landlocked country, Sherry said Pakistan still hosted the biggest refugee population in the world.