WASHINGTON - Rejecting claims that the United States does not want to see peace in Pakistan, a State Department spokesperson has said that Secretary of State John Kerry will visit the South Asian country again in efforts to promote regional stability.
“I think our actions and our efforts, including the recent strategic dialogue we had with Pakistan, and our ongoing engagement - the Secretary (of State) was there last summer; (and) he said he hopes to go again,” State Department Spokesperson Jen Psaki told reporters during a conference call on Monday.
Pakistan has been seeking US help to improve its capacity to deal with the growing terrorist threat in the country.
“We have an ongoing... a vital shared strategic interest with the government of Pakistan in ending terrorism and pursuing a stable, peaceful and prosperous region,” she said, responding to a question on the criticism made by PTI chief Imran Khan that the US does not want peace in his country. “So the proof is in the pudding, and we remain very closely tied with the government of Pakistan in fighting terrorism and coordinate it with them in that effort as well,” Psaki said.
QUESTION: Will the developments in Ukraine have any impact on your operations in Afghanistan? I mean, your posts, your decision to pull out all the troops after 2014? Would you still insist on that?
MS PSAKI: No. So just to reiterate, one, we’re not talking – no one’s preference is a military action in Ukraine. But Afghanistan, our position remains the same. We need to have a BSA in order to have a remaining presence. You know the President’s announcement last week about our openness to one of Karzai’s successor’s signing the BSA. But again, it remains in the interest of the people of Afghanistan. Given the broad and deep support we’ve seen for the BSA from the Afghan people, we believe the Afghan people have also already expressed their support for these steps and also support for the progress that’s been made in keeping that going. But I would not draw a connection between the two international events.
QUESTION: And to the neighbouring country, in Pakistan, one of the leaders, Imran Khan, who is heading the Tehreek-e-Insaf party, he’s saying that he doesn’t want peace in Pakistan. You know Pakistan Government has launched a massive operation against the terrorist groups in the tribal regions of the country.
MS. PSAKI: Well, I think our actions and our efforts, including the recent Strategic Dialogue we had with Pakistan and our ongoing engagement – the Secretary was there last summer. He said he hopes to go again. And we have an ongoing vital shared strategic interest with the Government of Pakistan in ending terrorism and pursuing a stable, peaceful, and prosperous region. So the proof is in the pudding and we remain very closely tied with the Government of Pakistan in fighting terrorism and coordinated with them in that effort as well.
QUESTION: And finally, the Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Nisha Desai is travelling to India this week, leaving tomorrow. Is she carrying any message from the Secretary? MS PSAKI: Yeah, that’s right. She is. She has a heavy schedule over the next couple of days. She’s going to meet with government and business leaders in Bangalore to discuss our joint efforts to foster innovation, increase our high-tech and engineering engagement, and strengthen US-India economic ties. She’s also travelling to New Delhi where she will meet with senior Indian officials to discuss the full range of bilateral and regional issues, including our shared defence, security, and economic engagement.
She is – this is an important trip for us. We have a broad and strategic partnership with India, and we’re a proud partner with India on virtually every field of human endeavour, from innovative solutions, to poverty and disease, to space exploration and counterterrorism. And the Secretary is sending with her a message that this relationship is important, we want to move past disagreements we’ve had because we have so many issues that are important for us to work closely on. So that is the purpose of her trip, and obviously she has an expansive itinerary while she’s there.
QUESTION: And in the itinerary, does she have any plans to meet the opposition leaders before the election?
MS PSAKI: I don’t have any plans for that in my list. We will check, Lalit, and see if anything has changed. But obviously, we’re meeting with a range of officials and – as you know, but it’s worth repeating: We don’t take a position on the future of leadership in India. Obviously, that’s up to the people of India.