Foreign office briefing: Govt refutes US aid cut threat

Aizaz says Hagel’s visit was part of Pak-US contacts to promote bilateral ties.

ISLAMABAD:

The Foreign Office has dismissed media claims that US Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel had warned Pakistan of an aid cut over the continued blockade of Nato supply route at the Torkham border.

“On Hagel’s [recent] visit [to Islamabad], we stated in clear terms that the reports that he issued any threats are not correct,” Foreign Office spokesman Aizaz Ahmed Chaudhry told reporters at the weekly briefing. Chaudhry stressed that Hagel’s visit was part of Pakistan-US contacts to promote bilateral relations and discuss regional situation.

His reaction came in response to reports quoting unnamed US officials that Secretary Hagel warned Pakistan that it could lose billions of dollars in aid if supply routes were not reopened. Contrary to media reports, the spokesperson claimed that bilateral ties between Pakistan and the US were heading in “positive trajectory”.



“The prime minister’s recent visit to the US has laid a solid foundation for promoting bilateral ties” he added. However, he acknowledged that there was difference of opinion between the two countries on the CIA-led drone campaign in the tribal areas.

The spokesperson said Pakistani leadership did raise the issue about the drone strikes during talks with Hagel. “The government has taken a clear stance on this issue and has raised it with the US government at every level,” he maintained.

“We believe that the drone strikes not only violate our sovereignty but are also counterproductive to our common efforts to fight terrorism and therefore such strikes must end,” Aizaz further said.

The vital supply route at the Torkham border has been blocked by PTI activists since November 24 as part of their anti-drone campaign.

Meanwhile, the Foreign Office appointed its new spokesperson after the incumbent Aizaz Chaudhry was named as the next foreign secretary. Additional Secretary Europe Tasnim Aslam, who also served as Pakistan’s Ambassador to Italy and Morocco, will be his successor.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 13^th, 2013.