Pakistan on Friday gave final nod to new rules of engagement with the US at a crucial meeting of the National Security Committee (NSC) chaired by Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi.
The meeting was attended by Minister for Finance Ishaq Dar, Minister for Foreign Affairs Khwaja Mohammad Asif, Chairman JCSC Gen Zubair Mehmood Hayat, all three Services’ Chiefs and senior civil and military officials. A source privy to details of the meeting told Pakistan Today that the committee was informed that Pakistan and United States of America (USA) would soon commence a dialogue on the future relationship and cooperation on the future of Afghanistan.
In this regard, the source added, Minister for Foreign Affairs Khwaja Asif would be visiting Washington DC and likely to meet with his counterpart US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson during the second week of October. The source said the government had also sent the parliamentary recommendations on relations to the US. The source said the meeting had been informed that the US ambassador David Hale had been sent a letter along with the parliamentary guidelines to inform the US government on the sentiments inside Pakistan about the tirade made by US President Donald Trump during his South Asia Policy review.
The source said that the meeting was also informed that during the meeting between Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and US Vice President Mike Pence, the tone of the US vice president was reconciliatory and positive. “Pence said that the US wanted reconciliation as a way forward. During the meeting the prime minister informed the committee that the US officials were also informed on the concerns of Pakistan,” the source said. The source said that the meeting was also informed that during the meeting between Foreign Secretary Tehmina Janjua and Lisa Curtis, the US advisor on South Asian affairs, Ms Janjua conveyed the rising temperatures in Pakistan over the speech of US President Donald Trump.
The US official was asked how the recommendations made in her joint paper with Husain Haqqani had been incorporated in Trump’s speech to target Pakistan, the source asserted. “The committee expressed a deep concern over repeated violations of Line of Control by India, resulting in loss of innocent lives owing to shelling and firing across the line of control. The Committee also condemned violation of human rights in the Indian occupied Kashmir and use of excessive force against unarmed civilians,” an official handout said.
The committee was informed that the prime minister, in his meeting with UN Secretary General, had handed over a dossier documenting the systematic human rights violations by India in Indian Occupied Jammu & Kashmir and stressed the need for appointing a special envoy on Jammu Kashmir. The committee was briefed on the interactions held between Pakistan and the US on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) 2017. The committee was also briefed over the interactions by prime minister and the foreign minister with the leadership of several important countries to share Pakistan’s perspective on regional and global security challenges.
“Salient aspects and outcomes of the prime minister’s visit to New York for the UN General Assembly were also shared with the committee,” the statement added. The committee was also informed that the foreign minister had visited key regional countries, including China, Iran and Turkey to apprise their leadership of Pakistan’s perspective on crucial regional and international issues. The committee was further informed that Pakistan’s continued engagement with leading world powers on matters of regional security had generated a supportive sentiment for Pakistan among world leaders during interactions on the sidelines of the UNGA in New York.
The committee also reviewed the current developments in the relationship with Afghanistan as well as common avenues for continued cooperation, especially border management and repatriation of refugees. “The committee reiterated its commitment for peace in Afghanistan through an Afghan-led and Afghan-owned peace process. The committee expressed its unwavering resolve to keep Pakistan’s defence impregnable against all forms of external aggression,” the statement concluded.
