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US respects sovereignty, integrity of Pakistan: Nuland

Dunya News

US does not support demand for self-determination in Balochistan, says US State Department.

The US State Department spokesperson, Victoria Nuland has said that the American administration respects the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Pakistan and is not supporting the demand raised in a Congressional resolution, tabled by the Republican Dana Rohrabacher, for the right of self-determination of Balochi people.She also confirmed receiving protest from Pakistan. With regard to the legislation on the Hill, yes, we did hear from Ambassador Rehman. And we also heard in Islamabad from the government. And in response to that, we again clarified our position. Members of Congress introduce legislation on many foreign affairs topics, but they don’t in any way imply US government endorsement of those positions.She remarked that we don’t generally comment on pending legislation. However, when this statement was challenged by another journalist on the grounds that the spokesperson had commented on such issues in the past, she conceded that it was a matter of discretion. We comment on what we choose to, she maintained.With regard to Balochistan itself, we encourage all the parties in Balochistan to work out their differences peaceably and through a political process. So we would like to again make clear that we respect Pakistani sovereignty in this regard, she reiterated the comments made in an earlier briefing by her last week after the hearing on Balochistan in the Congress subcommittee chaired by Dana Rohrabacher.When asked about the self-determination in Balochistan, as some of the lawmakers and some of the Balochistan people are saying, she again clarified in categoric terms that it was not the US administrations viewpoint. That is not what we are saying. I think you understand our position very well, she observed.On the Pakistani parliaments review of relationship with United States, she said that the recommendations were still awaited. With regard to the parliamentary review, our understanding is the process is still ongoing. So we will, obviously, await the conclusion of that process so that we can have a consultation on the results with the Pakistani government.On the proposed meeting of Pakistani Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar and Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton on the sidelines of a summit in London, she was non-committal. I don’t have any bilateral meetings for the Secretary’s upcoming travel to confirm at the moment. I would expect that tomorrow we’ll have a little more detail on this.- Contributed by Awais Saleem, Dunya News correspondent in Washington, DC
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