PHOTO: REUTERS
In a meeting with Prime Minister’s Special Assistant on Foreign Affairs Syed Tariq Fatemi, Blinken also expressed concern over increasing tension between Pakistan and India along the Line of Control.
He noted that Pakistan’s participation in the Heart of Asia Conference held in India on December 4, and its earlier pledge at the Brussels conference to provide $500 million for development projects in Afghanistan were concrete and positive steps reflecting Pakistan’s commitment to peace and prosperity of its western neighbour.
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Blinken also praised Pakistan’s generosity in hosting millions of Afghan refugees for over four decades and expressed appreciation on the recent decision to extend the deadline for the repatriation of refugees.
Fatemi briefed Blinken on the frequency of ceasefire violations by India in recent weeks with particular reference to targeting of civilians across the LoC.
The massive and systematic human rights violations in the Indian Occupied Kashmir were resulting in hundreds of casualties and debilitating injuries to the civilians, including women and children, he added.
Blinken reiterated the US position on the need for reducing tension in South Asia and promoting closer cooperation and dialogue between the two largest countries of the region.
The meeting reviewed the bilateral relations between Pakistan and the United States, with the two sides expressing satisfaction on several achievements in areas of peace and security, counterterrorism, defence and economic cooperation.
It was agreed that Pakistan-US relationship was important to regional as well as global peace and security and should continue to be strengthened under the next administration.
Fatemi voiced hope the two sides would resume their regular engagement on the bilateral track after the completion of ongoing transition process.
Media meeting
Earlier, in his interaction with the media Fatemi underscored that Pakistan was looking forward to working closely with the new US administration and wanted the bilateral relations to further strengthen in future.
“Once president-elect Donald Trump assumes his office, Pakistan is looking forward to meaningful engagement with the USA in further improving bilateral relations and playing its role in the context of regional and international issues,” he said.
He apprised the media about his ongoing visit, saying he intended to interact with the current US administration and also to reach out to the officials who are likely to join the new administration following the recent US presidential elections.
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He said Pakistan could play an instrumental role in promoting peace not only in Afghanistan but in the entire region. Highlighting Pakistan’s unflinching commitment to putting an end to terrorism and militancy, Fatemi said Pakistan has lost more than 5,000 army men in the war against terrorism. He also briefed the media on the steps taken under the National Action Plan to counter terrorism.
He added that Pakistan today has far less and far few incidents of militancy and terrorism. At present, he said, terrorists are on the run and are targeting soft targets out of frustration.
Fatemi also underlined the need for a dialogue between Pakistan and India to resolve the long-standing issue of Kashmir between both the countries.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 7th, 2016.
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