Accuses US, West of generating ill will

Agencies

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan accused the United States and the West on Monday of generating "ill will" and warned US Senator John Kerry, who heads Foreign Relations Committee of the US Senate, against attaching conditions to a massive financial support package.

Senator Kerry has backed a bill that would triple economic assistance for Pakistan, a key US ally in the fight against terror, to $7.5 billion over five years. But Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gillani criticised conditions attached to the package.

During a meeting at the Aiwan-e-Sadr, President Asif Zardari called for expediting the Kerry-Lugar Bill and the Reconstruction Opportunity Zones (ROZs) legislation in the US Senate, besides the need for working out a joint strategy to counter-terrorism.

Both President Zardari and Senator Kerry discussed various issues including situation in the region, upcoming meeting of Friends of Pakistan in Tokyo on April 17, funds for socio-economic uplift in Pakistan and the ongoing war on terror.

Discussing the forthcoming Tokyo meeting and the economic and security challenges facing the country, President Zardari termed the financial assistance as essential for the economic and social uplift of the people of Pakistan. He said the support from the world community would help strengthening democracy in the country.

The meeting was attended among others by Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, MNA Faryal Taplur and US Ambassador Anne W Patterson. The wives of Senator Kerry and Foreign Minister Qureshi were also present during the meeting.

The US Embassy in Islamabad confirmed only that Senator Kerry was in the country for meetings with Pakistani leaders and representatives of the civil society. US President Barack Obama has put Pakistan at the centre of the fight against Al Qaeda under a new strategy to turn around the flagging Afghan war.

Talking to Senator Kerry at the PM House, Prime Minister Gillani asked the US administration to stop drone attacks inside Pakistan and not to attach conditions to the financial assistance to fight militancy and extremism. He said the relationship between Pakistan and the US should be based on mutual respect and trust.

Prime Minister Gillani said that the US should not attach conditionalities to the assistance package being presented to the US Congress, as the aid with strings attached would fail to generate the desired goodwill and results in Pakistan. He emphasized that strategic and multifaceted partnership should be based on mutual respect and mutual trust.

Prime Minister Gillani said both sides should work together to reduce the trust deficit which was harming rather than strengthening bilateral ties. He asked the Senator Kerry to urge his administration to focus on intelligence sharing so that the two countries could get rid of extremism, militancy and terrorism.

Pakistan was a victim of militancy and terrorism and would continue to act as bulwark in eradicating this menace in its own interest as well as in the interest of the world at large, he said, and stressed that the US drone attacks and consequent collateral damage, however, were impeding his government's efforts in this regard.

Prime Minister Gillani pointed out that the negative perception from the US and the West were generating ill will. He urged the American senator that the US must take the fact into account that Pakistan could not ignore its eastern border and hence should play a role in resolving all outstanding issues including the core issue of Jammu Kashmir with India so that Pakistan could focus entirely on the western front.

Senator Kerry informed Prime Minister Gillani that he and his colleagues in the US Senate were working with the House of Representatives for the passage of the legislation for providing Pakistan the much-needed economic and military assistance package. He was hopeful that Pakistan's concerns would be fully accommodated in the final version of the legislation.

He said that the US wanted to build its long-term relationship with Pakistan beyond the issue of terrorism. Senator Kerry said he respected the way Prime Minister Gillani handled the domestic political situation last month to bring all stakeholders on board on important national issues.

The US senator hoped that with concerted efforts of Prime Minister Gillani, Pakistan would be able to overcome its economic difficulties by creating conducive environment for foreign investment in the country.

US officials have publicly criticised intelligence services for supporting extremists. Pakistan is also deeply opposed to drone attacks - about 37 of which have killed more than 360 people since August 2008 - saying they violate its territorial sovereignty and deepen resentment in the country.