Pakistan wants a stable Afghanistan: Khar

Foreign Minister, Hina Rabbani Khar, flanked by Ambassador Sherry Rehman, kicked-off her first official meeting of the US capital Tuesday and her most important interaction was with the Senates select committee for intelligence, chaired by Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-California).The Foreign Minister conveyed that her visit was aimed at in-depth discussions on the ways and means to deal with the challenges confronting bilateral relationship. Pakistan, she stressed, wanted to build upon the recent positive momentum in order to strengthen Pak-US ties. However, it is important that Pakistans priorities, concerns and constraints are better understood by the US, she argued.Dunya News learnt that the Senators did raise question marks over Pakistans role in the fight against terror and the future of Afghanistan. The tone, however, remained conciliatory as the US administration is not willing to derail the efforts to bring the relationship back on track. The minister assured the Committee members that Pakistan was part of solution, and not part of the problem.Ms. Khar said an instable Afghanistan posed more danger for Pakistan than any other country adding that a peaceful, stable and prosperous Afghanistan is central to both the short and long term interests of Pakistan. We want a genuine dialogue with the US on Afghanistan, she said and reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to use the trilateral mechanism for an Afghan-led and Afghan-owned reconciliation process.The Foreign Minister also impressed upon the legislators that some of the statements from the US side against Pakistan had not served the relationship well because the people of Pakistan wanted their contributions and sacrifices in fighting terrorism recognized and appreciated. It is learnt that the lingering issue of Haqqani network and Dr. Shakeel Afridi was also raised by the members during the conversation.We have made extraordinary efforts and sacrifices to eradicate the terrorism and build a peaceful, stable South and Central Asia, she maintained while responding to a number of questions raised by the Senators on regional security, counterterrorism efforts, and reconciliation in Afghanistan.Earlier, the USAID Administrator, Dr. Rajiv Shah also called on the Foreign Minsiter and reviewed the state of economic collaboration and projects with US-assistance that are underway in Pakistan. Terming the US assistance an investment in the future of the relationship, FM Khar particularly appreciated USAID projects in the energy sector and road infrastructure.Ms. Khar appreciated the signing of the MoU for Peshawar-Torkham road, for which a sum of $70 million is being released, and believed that such large signature projects could be important symbols of the Pakistan-US partnership. She called for early convening of the working groups in priority areas like economy and finance, trade and market access, energy, and water, to further strengthen bilateral collaboration.Administrator Shah apprised the Foreign Minister of the USAIDs operational difficulties and security challenges in Pakistan. He pointed out the need to address these issues in order to carry-out USAID projects and for ensuring smooth and effective delivery of the assistance.The Foreign Minister also engaged with leading experts from different think-tanks in a candid conversation at the Pakistan embassy. She answered questions that are raised consistently about Pakistan in the US media and apprised them with the countrys policies and limitations vis-a-vis the war on terror.- Contributed by Awais Saleem, Dunya News correspondent in Washington, DC