Washington October 23:
Despite managing to get $2.29 billion in fresh military aid, Pakistan failed to extract anything from the U.S. on two key issues of civilian nuclear deal similar to that of India and American intervention in the Kashmir issue.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton did not respond to a question on Pakistan’s quest for a civilian nuclear deal on the lines of India, thus clearly indicating that it is not on the radar of the Obama Administration, which has announced a series of civilian and military assistance to Pakistan during the U.S.-Pak Strategic Dialogue.
Similarly, U.S. State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley clarified for the second successive day that the U.S. has no role to play in the Kashmir issue and both India and Pakistan has to resolve it bilaterally. Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, however, asserted that he will not give up and continue to persist on these issues.
“Things we’ve tried in the past, it hasn’t worked. That doesn’t mean we give up. We are persistent. And as they say: Perseverance commands success. So I am not giving up,” Mr. Qureshi said at a joint-press conference with Ms. Clinton in the Foggy Bottom headquarters of the State Department.
“I can assure you that all issues have been discussed, and it’s not just what we talk about here in Washington for two days, but it’s what we continue to talk about between meetings, between our experts and our officials,” Ms. Clinton said when asked about the civilian nuclear deal being sought by Pakistan. Ms. Clinton announced a multi-year security assistance commitment to Pakistan of $2.29 billion under foreign military assistance to be made available for the period from 2012 to 2016.
“That money for military assistance complements the $7.5 billion commitments in civilian projects that has already been approved by the Kerry-Lugar-Berman legislation,” she said. “To build the kind of future that young Pakistanis deserve, people of courage must stand against these extremists. And our two governments are working closely together with governments around the world and millions and millions of people who understand the threat that is posed to eliminate terrorism,” she added.
“As we conclude this Third Strategic Dialogue session in seven months, we can see that our intensive consultations, our frank discussions, our focus on cooperation have already yielded an improvement in our bilateral relationship.”
