Anti-Americanism will not end Pakistan’s problems: Clinton
Hillary Clinton said US was even more committed to Pakistan after Osama's killing, but the country needed to do more in battling militancy.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Friday she was even more committed to Pakistan after Osama bin Laden's killing, but said the country needed to do more in its battle with Islamist militants.
Clinton is the most senior US official to visit Islamabad since relations between the wary allies went into freefall over the US Navy SEALs raid on May 2 that killed the al-Qaida chief in the city of Abbottabad.
Shrouded in blanket security, she met Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, before talks with army chief Ashfaq Kayani and the chief of Pakistan's ISI Shuja Pasha.
The discovery that the world's most-wanted man was living just a stone's throw from Pakistan's equivalent of West Point raised troubling questions about whether anyone in the Pakistani establishment was protecting him.
"There is a momentum toward political reconciliation in Afghanistan but the insurgency continues to operate from safe havens here in Pakistan," she added, saying she believed that Pakistan and the United States had the same goals.
Pakistan has suffered a wave of attacks since the May 2 raid, with the country's main Taliban faction vowing to strike Pakistani and American targets to avenge his death in the American raid.
"America cannot and should not solve Pakistan's problems. That's up to Pakistan," she said.
"Pakistan should understand that anti-Americanism and conspiracy theories will not make the problem disappear," she added.
Her visit was seen as an effort to demand more cooperation from Pakistan in the fight against Al-Qaeda and Taliban militants but also smooth over relations with Islamabad humiliated by the US raid that killed bin Laden.
Kayani has said any similar raid would prompt a review of military cooperation with the United States and Washington is reducing the strength of US military personnel to a minimum following a request from Islamabad.
Pakistan has always maintained that any such operation would be of its own time and choosing, arguing that its 140,000 troops committed to the northwest are too overstretched fighting against militants who pose a domestic threat.
Pakistan has been fighting homegrown Taliban for years in its northwest and militant attacks have killed more than 4,400 people across the country since July 2007 in revenge for the government's US alliance.(source:Toi)
American officials have met with a senior aide to the fugitive Taliban leader, Mullah Muhammad OmarClinton is the most senior US official to visit Islamabad since relations between the wary allies went into freefall over the US Navy SEALs raid on May 2 that killed the al-Qaida chief in the city of Abbottabad.
Shrouded in blanket security, she met Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, before talks with army chief Ashfaq Kayani and the chief of Pakistan's ISI Shuja Pasha.
The discovery that the world's most-wanted man was living just a stone's throw from Pakistan's equivalent of West Point raised troubling questions about whether anyone in the Pakistani establishment was protecting him.
She said the United States had "absolutely no evidence that anyone at the highest level of the Pakistani government" knew where bin Laden was and said she would return to Washington "ever more committed" to the relationship.
"There is a momentum toward political reconciliation in Afghanistan but the insurgency continues to operate from safe havens here in Pakistan," she added, saying she believed that Pakistan and the United States had the same goals.
Pakistan has suffered a wave of attacks since the May 2 raid, with the country's main Taliban faction vowing to strike Pakistani and American targets to avenge his death in the American raid.
On the eve of Clinton's visit, 35 people were killed in a suicide car bombing outside a Pakistani police station in the northwestern town of Hangu late Thursday.
"America cannot and should not solve Pakistan's problems. That's up to Pakistan," she said.
"Pakistan should understand that anti-Americanism and conspiracy theories will not make the problem disappear," she added.
The chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen, who accompanied Clinton in her meetings went on to plead for greater co-operation between the two wary allies in the war against the Taliban and Al-Qaeda.
Her visit was seen as an effort to demand more cooperation from Pakistan in the fight against Al-Qaeda and Taliban militants but also smooth over relations with Islamabad humiliated by the US raid that killed bin Laden.
Kayani has said any similar raid would prompt a review of military cooperation with the United States and Washington is reducing the strength of US military personnel to a minimum following a request from Islamabad.
Western officials have long accused Pakistan's intelligence services of playing a double game by fighting Islamist militants who pose a domestic threat, but protecting those who fight against American troops in Afghanistan.
The United States has long put pressure on Pakistan to lead a major air and ground offensive in North Waziristan, the most notorious Taliban and Al-Qaeda bastion used to launch attacks across the border in Afghanistan.
Pakistan has always maintained that any such operation would be of its own time and choosing, arguing that its 140,000 troops committed to the northwest are too overstretched fighting against militants who pose a domestic threat.
Pakistan has been fighting homegrown Taliban for years in its northwest and militant attacks have killed more than 4,400 people across the country since July 2007 in revenge for the government's US alliance.(source:Toi)
(source TheNews) American officials have met with a senior aide to the fugitive Taliban leader, Mullah Muhammad Omar, at least three times in recent months in the first direct exploratory peace talks, officials in the region said, a US paper claimed.
The meetings have been facilitated by Germany and Qatar, but American officials have been present each time, meeting with Tayeb Agha, who is a close personal assistant to Mullah Omar, the officials said. The C.I.A. and the State Department have been involved in the meetings, one official said.
Talks have begun before the killing of Osama bin Laden on May 2.
The presence of Mr. Agha, a longtime personal assistant of the reclusive Taliban leader, is a sign that the Taliban are serious despite their public opposition to peace talks, the officials said.
The meetings have been conducted without the participation of Pakistan.
The meetings have been facilitated by Germany and Qatar, but American officials have been present each time, meeting with Tayeb Agha, who is a close personal assistant to Mullah Omar, the officials said. The C.I.A. and the State Department have been involved in the meetings, one official said.
Talks have begun before the killing of Osama bin Laden on May 2.
The presence of Mr. Agha, a longtime personal assistant of the reclusive Taliban leader, is a sign that the Taliban are serious despite their public opposition to peace talks, the officials said.
The meetings have been conducted without the participation of Pakistan.
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