'US should provide information on Zawahiri's presence in Pakistan'
Foreign minister responds to Clinton's statement that al Qaeda leader Ayman al Zawahiri is somewhere in Pakistan.
ISLAMABAD:
Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar said on Monday that if the United States has any solid intelligence information on the presence of al Qaeda leader Ayman al Zawahiri in Pakistan, it should be shared so that the country can look into the matter accordingly. Khar was speaking in response to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s statement in India.
Khar was briefing the Parliamentary Committee on National Security (PCNS) on the issue of drone strikes in Pakistan’s tribal areas and the recommendation of Parliament on Pakistan-US ties. Ties between the two countries had been affected after an attack on a check post had killed 24 Pakistani soldiers.
She said that talks between Pakistan and the United States in light of the terms of engagement set by Parliament were still ongoing and may take some time to settle. She said there was no halt in the talks and the impression of failure was wrong.
The foreign minister said the US will hopefully respect the Pakistani parliament’s recommendations, which have been directly linked to the stoppage of drone strikes.
Chairman PCNS Raza Rabbani briefed the media after the meeting ended. He said that the foreign minister and Defence Secretary Nargis Sethi had given detailed briefings on the implementation of the recommendations.
The committee will meet tomorrow to take up the issue of missing persons.
A unanimous resolution had been passed by the Parliament last month setting new terms and conditions for the reopening of Nato supply routes. It had linked the reopening of supply routes to stoppage of drone strikes.
Pakistan had recently condemned a drone strike in North Waziristan, while the US had said that it will continue to launch drone strikes against militants even if the Pakistani government opposes it.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
[poll id="744"]
Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar said on Monday that if the United States has any solid intelligence information on the presence of al Qaeda leader Ayman al Zawahiri in Pakistan, it should be shared so that the country can look into the matter accordingly. Khar was speaking in response to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s statement in India.
Khar was briefing the Parliamentary Committee on National Security (PCNS) on the issue of drone strikes in Pakistan’s tribal areas and the recommendation of Parliament on Pakistan-US ties. Ties between the two countries had been affected after an attack on a check post had killed 24 Pakistani soldiers.
She said that talks between Pakistan and the United States in light of the terms of engagement set by Parliament were still ongoing and may take some time to settle. She said there was no halt in the talks and the impression of failure was wrong.
The foreign minister said the US will hopefully respect the Pakistani parliament’s recommendations, which have been directly linked to the stoppage of drone strikes.
Chairman PCNS Raza Rabbani briefed the media after the meeting ended. He said that the foreign minister and Defence Secretary Nargis Sethi had given detailed briefings on the implementation of the recommendations.
The committee will meet tomorrow to take up the issue of missing persons.
A unanimous resolution had been passed by the Parliament last month setting new terms and conditions for the reopening of Nato supply routes. It had linked the reopening of supply routes to stoppage of drone strikes.
Pakistan had recently condemned a drone strike in North Waziristan, while the US had said that it will continue to launch drone strikes against militants even if the Pakistani government opposes it.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
[poll id="744"]