US Secretary of State John Kerry. PHOTO: AFP/FILE
The United States on Wednesday said Secretary of State John Kerry “very much” wants to visit Pakistan to engage with the government and civil society leaders on wide-ranging areas of cooperation.
The State Department said the Secretary looks forward to spending enough time in Pakistan on the broad-ranging relationship.
“Secretary Kerry was not able to make it (to Pakistan) on this (continuing) trip (to Asia). He very much wants to go there and spend enough time, have appropriate window of time to spend in Pakistan (and) looks forward to it,” State Department spokesperson Patrick Ventrell, who is Director Office of Press Relations, said.
He was responding to a question about media reports that Secretary Kerry might not be able to visit Pakistan shortly. The spokesperson stressed that the top American diplomat “will go to Pakistan. We look for a date. I don’t have one to announce yet. But he looks forward to it.”
The spokesperson cited the visit of US Special Representative James Dobbins’ as continuation of high-level engagement with Islamabad.
Ventrell avoided adopting any stand on the issue of court cases against former Pakistani president and retired general Pervez Musharraf. When questioned about the US stance regarding the issue, he referred reporters to Pakistani officials for information and he said he had no position on the issue one way or another.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 27th, 2013.
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@Np:
I don't think USCentcom is an official representative of Centcom. No United States official sections of State Department or the Defense Department send their representatives to Internet blogs to give answers to/or discuss about official positions.
Before US Afghanistan exit in 2014, the US considers pakistan as an insignificant nation to visit.So think after 2014, how they are going to treat pakistan ? There are only 3 significant nation in the world by 2025 1.US 2.China 3.India
Double Gaming is a art of war which Americans fight against their own friends,allies,partners and claim that we are on same page.
@US Centcom: He also said that he has No new date that he can announce. If Pakistan was as important as they say then actions would match the words. When Kerry went to 7 countries for a period of 14 days, he could surely have also visited Pakistan. When Obama had gone to India in 2010, it was said that the following year he will visit Pakistan but 3 years later there are no plans. US is trying to help Pakistan save face. Putin too was supposed to visit and never did. At that time too, Pakistan said visit is postponed not cancelled but facts show that it was indeed cancelled.
On a separate note, when you write a post in your personal capacity, you should use a personal moniker rather than speak on behalf of your employer. I have noticed you even comment on cricket matches with your official moniker which is unprofessional.
After the fall of Shah of Iran,Pakistan use to be second home for Americans for all conspiracies within and in all neighboring countries of Pakistan.Kerry most welcome but no double gaming any more we have gone far off due to all this from each other.Role of India in Afghanistan as you have said in your last visit to India, will cost him too much,so you are still not stopping from double gaming.Americans have no face to face the truth in Pakistan.
Like anybody cares?
I knew he would not visit. They leave no stone unturned to humiliate us, because we are so much dependent on them. Can they dare to cancel visits to other countries ? First Obama visits India and Skips Pakistan and now our friend John Kerry. Remember we are allies to USA.
The USA State Dept maintains a website that includes Kerry's travel plans. When Pakistan newspapers started writing articles about his impending trip I visited that website noting that Pakistan was never listed on his itinerary - that suggest that either the plans were never formalized or he was never going to come. It was interesting to note that Kerry has already visited over 30 countries so he's bound to land in Pakistan eventually.
Dear Manishj,
We cannot over emphasize Pakistan’s importance in the region. The truth is that we cannot have a safe and secure region without a safe and secure Pakistan. Our nations have made a lot of sacrifices in fighting terrorism, and we cannot afford to waste our efforts by parting ways. The proof lies in the fact that we’ve been able to overcome many challenges in our decade long partnership and still maintain a close working relationship. We greatly appreciate each other’s assistance, and it is simply imperative for us to maintain a healthy working relationship for the sake of achieving our shared goals. We are very optimistic in regards to the future of our relationship. Our officials have been meeting regularly to address our shared concerns and prevent any issues from arising. We repeat what State Department spokesperson, Patrick Ventrell, said above: Secretary Kerry was not able to make it (to Pakistan) on this (continuing) trip (to Asia). He very much wants to go there and spend enough time, have appropriate window of time to spend in Pakistan (and) looks forward to it.”
Ali Khan
Reading this story I remember all the excitement in the Pakistani press about the "impending" visit of the Soviet President Putin. But the trip never happened. Now Kerry chose to skip Pakistan........ time for Islamabad to do some soul searching.
Wait for US to completely pull off from Afghanistan. You will find that this decency will also go and US will wash its hands off Pakistan completely.
Good call Kerry. It ain't safe here man. Enjoy your trip to India!
Great news. I really do want Kerry to visit our great country because that would mean we're quite important or something.