Pakistan not alone in terror war: Clinton

ISLAMABAD: US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Wednesday that Pakistan was not alone in fight against terrorism and the United States would extend help to the country to achieve goals to defeat terrorism. “Pakistan is not alone in this fight as this is our struggle as well,” Hillary Clinton said at a press conference along with her Pakistani counterpart Shah Mahmood Qureshi after their bilateral talks. Ms. Hillary Clinton arrived on a three-day visit, her first to Pakistan since she assumed the office as Secretary of State. “Pakistan and the United States are facing the security issue and Pakistan is currently engaged in the struggle to fight terrorists,” she said. She commended Pakistan military for their courageous fight and said the United States stands shoulder to shoulder with Pakistani people in their fight for peace and security. The US Secretary of State said the relationship between the two countries goes far beyond security and in today’s talks both sides agreed to work closely as Pakistan continues its journey towards an effective, responsive and enduring democracy. “The United States wants to provide help to Pakistanwhich its people think best for the country”. The US Secretary of State said the United States seeks to turn the page to a new partnership not only with the Government but people of democratic Pakistan. She said during talks they agreed to resume and intensify US-Pakistan strategic dialogue, as we want comprehensive dialogue which is result-oriented. “The United States wants to help Pakistan in economic arena, create jobs, develop infrastructure, create investment opportunities and more access to education and healthcare”. The Secretary of State said special envoy Richard Holbrooke and the US Ambassador in Islamabad are working closely with Pakistan to find ways and means to help overcome the country’s energy crisis. She announced the first phase of an energy programme for Pakistan, which would help repair power facilities and promote energy efficiency. The projects designed in close collaboration with Pakistan Government will repair and upgrade key power stations across the country, which are currently operating well below the capacity. She said the United States would help install better equipment at Tarbela dam power station and help repair or replace more than 10,000 tubewells across the country, which would save energy and increase agricultural productivity. She said this first phase is only beginning and there would be more intensive cooperation in this sector. Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi emphasized the need for building a relationship based on trust, mutual respect and shared objectives. He said in today’s talks the two countries discussed how to re-enforce the trust and how to understand sensitivities of each other’s concerns and identify and align our objectives and strategic interests. The Foreign Minister pointed out that democracies could not be oblivious of public opinion. He said we need to address fears and concerns of both sides. He said we now have a mechanism in place and leadership of the two countries are willing to address these fears and concerns. Shah Mahmood Qureshi said as a new review of Afghan policy is taking place in the United States, Pakistan asked the Secretary of State to share her views on it and take Pakistan’s input for it. “There is a policy shift in the US approach - moving from individuals to people as the United States want to have a people-centric relationship”. He said the United States is a democracy and it has supported transition to democracy in Pakistan. He said democracies have to re-draw terms of engagement and today we sat to analyze the way forward. “We have to build relationship for the future. We have to regain each other’s confidence and Obama administration is taking steps that indicate it understands the importance of confidence in each other,” Qureshi said. He said defeating terrorism is our shared goal but the relationship has to go beyond terrorism. Qureshi said Pakistan is a resource rich country and it needs US support in using its resources. He said Pakistan needs greater market access as the country prefers trade than aid. He said during talks they also talked about the importance of building capacity of institutions that can deliver and improve the quality of life of ordinary citizens, provide better health education, sanitation and pulling people out of poverty. He said they also discussed how we can be sensitive to each other’s core interests. He said Pakistan and United States have agreed to build a strong relationship based on mutual respect and shared responsibilities.