PPP co-chairman forms committee under Rehman Malik to review Panama Leaks issue
As ties between Pakistan and the United States come under stress after a deadlock in F-16 fighter jets sale, former president and Pakistan People’s Party Co-Chairman Asif Ali Zardari on Tuesday called on the United States to assure Pakistan of commitment to its security needs.
Zardari urged the US to ‘look beyond its checklist of requirements’ for cooperation on Pakistan’s security needs and think strategically about how it can support a democratic nation under pressure from the same terror groups that threaten the regional security of the US.
The former president, who had maintained good ties with the US during his regime, said that the Pak-US bilateral relationship ‘has suffered tremendously over the last 15 years’.
“The conflict between Pakistan and the US over funding for the purchase of F-16 fighter jets lays bare how far apart the two countries have grown,” he said, adding that what was once a strong partnership is getting weaker.
The PPP leader expressed the hope that the US State Department officials currently in Pakistan for meetings with top government officials will use the opportunity to assure Pakistan that they remain committed to supporting the country’s security needs.
He invited factions in the US Congress that don’t believe Pakistan is committed to fighting terrorists to come to Pakistan and witness the violence in the country as a result of terrorism and extremism.
While referring to a damning editorial published by the New York Times last week which implicated Pakistan for the mess in Afghanistan and termed Islamabad a ‘duplicitous’ and ‘dangerous’ partner for the US and Afghanistan, Zardari said the recent statements by both the countries indicate that the relationship is currently dysfunctional.
The editorial, he said, described strategic interests between the countries as both troubling and necessary. However, he added, that the recent comments by the US State Department can be read as supportive of Pakistan’s needs for new weapon systems to step up its fight against terror.
Meanwhile, Zardari constituted a committee under former interior minister Rehman Malik to review the issue of Panama Papers.
According to sources, the committee was formed following a meeting between Zardari and Malik in London. PPP leaders Safdar Warraich and Khurram Latif Khosa are the other members on the committee.
The body will submit a report to PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari over the issue in two weeks.
The PPP would take a decision over the issue of Panama Leaks after reviewing the report in its central executive committee meeting.
