Updated on
Summary
The Foreign Minister (FM) Shah Mahmood Qureshi has conveyed Pakistans reservations on the Kerry-Lugar Bill to the US in his meetings with the top officials while US administration and Congress have assured to remove Pakistans apprehensions, reported Dunya News. Senator John Kerry said he was happy about the debate on the bill in Pakistans Parliament, adding that he believed that some misconceptions about the bill were needed to be removed. Kerry maintained that private security companies, drone attacks and others issues which were being talked about in newspapers had nothing to do with the bill. America had no resolution to harm Pakistans sovereignty and there is nothing in this bill to affect the countrys independence, Kerry added. Qureshi observed that he had informed Senator Kerry about the parliaments apprehensions regarding bill and they should be removed. The FM hoped that John Kerry and his team would consider removing Pakistans apprehensions. The FM vowed to talk to media again after the reservations on the bills were resolved. The Congress members who are aware of the sensitivity of complex Pakistani politics and are sympathetic to Pakistan revealed that the conditions related to the bill couldnt be softened. Kerry, the creator of the bill, told that in next 24 hours the conditions and the language of the bill would be clarified however no change would be brought into it. If any wrong meanings are derived from the bill, we will explain them, Kerry added. President Obama is likely to sign the bill today. Earlier, the FM also called on US special representative on Pakistan and Afghanistan Richard Holbrooke to discuss the bill. I have come here with Pakistans mandate on my backing and have cleared on Holbrooke what the people of Pakistan want, Qureshi told media. The FM will call on senator Johan Kerry and Richard Lugar tomorrow again besides holding meeting with National Securitys Advisor James Jones. While talking to Dunya News on the issue of KL Bill, Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) Leader Zafar Iqbal Jhagra said that the Kerry-Lugar Bill had triggered the debates countrywide. He said, We dont reject the bill straightaway but we demand that our reservations on it should be addressed. Senator Kerry has spoken positively about our apprehensions and when the changed draft comes the parliament will decide whether or not it is acceptable to us. Pakistan Muslim League-Q Leader Marvi Memon maintained that statements by the US officials didnt have any legal binding and the lethal conditions would remain the same. The bill continues to be extremely problematic, she added. Memon opined that if financial aid was given at the cost of handcuffing the country then it shouldnt be acceptable.
