Return of US negotiators is not an institutional withdrawal; says Sherry Rehman

Pakistan’s ambassador to the United States Sherry Rehman has said that the return of US negotiators from Islamabad was not an official pullout.

The American negotiating team was in Islamabad to work with Pakistani authorities to finalize matters on reopening of NATO supply line.

While replying a question about pullout by American negotiating team, she noted, “I don’t really see it as an institutional pullout, but really, that question is for the US administration to speak to”.

She added, “For our part, I have been saying this again and again, Pakistan is seeking to be part of the solution for NATO and the US as they transfer security in Afghanistan, not an obstacle”.

The Pakistani envoy further said the way forward for the NATO supply line was more related to others issues, rejecting the impression that they certainly closed the GLOCs for leveraging a price advantage.

She clarified that the land route for allied forces battling in Afghanistan was not closed in a fit of pique. The decision to block supply line was taken after NATO forces’ attack killed 24 Pakistani troops at the Salala check-post in November last year.

Earlier on Monday, the United States withdrew negotiators from Pakistan after talks failed to produce an agreement on reopening of NATO supply routes into Afghanistan.

Pentagon spokesman George Little observed, “The decision was reached to bring the team home for a short period of time”.

The team of negotiators had been in Pakistan for about six weeks, he said, as the US officials had believed they were close to a deal with Islamabad to lift the blockade on NATO convoys.

But no breakthrough was imminent and there was no scheduled date for a resumption of the negotiations, he added.

The spokesperson confirmed that the United States would continue to maintain a dialogue with Pakistan and the departure of the expert negotiating team did not mean Washington had given up discussions with Islamabad.

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Posted by Faisal Farooq on Jun 12 2012. Filed under National, Pakistan. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.