WASHINGTON :Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said on Monday that Pakistan's reinstatement of a deposed Supreme Court chief justice will allow Islamabad to return its attention to the crucial fight against Taliban and al Qaeda militants operating along the Afghan border.
As part of intense diplomatic efforts over the weekend, Clinton called both US-allied President Asif Ali Zardari and opposition leader Nawaz Sharif.
Zardari had refused to restore the independent-minded judge Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry, prompting threats from Sharif's followers to march on the capital, raising fears of political instability in the nuclear-armed country.
Clinton told reporters that Pakistan's decision was "a first step of what has to be an ongoing reconciliation and compromising of political views that can stabilize civilian democracy and rule of law, both of which are essential to ... preventing extremism and violence from stalking the Pakistani people and the country."
When asked if the political turmoil was distracting Pakistan from the fight against extremists, Clinton said, "I think they understand what's at stake."
The United States, Clinton said after meeting at the State Department with Ireland's foreign minister, will continue to work closely with Pakistan. She said the consultations were part of "an ongoing effort to make our services available and to help the Pakistanis fight against our common enemies."
Sensitive to the perception that US pressure had forced Zardari's hand, Clinton was careful to say that the "Pakistanis themselves resolved the difficulties" — without any US threat or demand.
Earlier, a senior State Department official said that Clinton, in her calls, raised the prospect that US lawmakers could back away from US economic aid for Pakistan because of the turmoil. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to describe a private diplomatic exchange.
No comments:
Post a Comment