Sherry Rehman sees long road ahead in US-Pak ties

After the spiny issue of NATO supply routes has now been resolved, Pakistan’s ambassador to the United States Sherry Rehman is quite optimistic about the bilateral ties between Washington and Islamabad.

In her view, the two ally countries are looking forward to resume  broader talks on security cooperation, militant threats and other issues of common interests.

However, it will be daunting to bridge the trust-deficit since the two states remain at odds over how to handle the doppelganger threats of Taliban in Afghanistan and militants in tribal areas of Pakistan.

Owing to the similar reasons, the bilateral ties have almost reached to breaking point. The latest development in which Obama administration ceded to Pakistani demand and said sorry for the NATO strike that killed 24 Pakistani troops at the Salala check-post brought relief for both allies.

Islamabad allowed container carrying supplies to cross into Afghanistan for the first time in more than seven months after US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton spoke to Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar and offered sorry and condolence over the losses Pakistan suffered in the strike.

While interviewing to an international media outlet she said, “There’s a long road ahead, but both sides can use this opportunity to build a path to durable ties”.

Explaining the recent development, the Pakistani envoy said it was never a matter of money or a transactional deal, adding that a number of other things become stuck with all this.

She noted, “We’re a very hospitable people but we don’t like being taken for granted – that was the public sentiment. You had 24 boys draped in flags that are not something that was going away from the public domain. At every level this percolated up and down”.

She further stated that most of Al-Qaeda leader have been decimated with cooperation from Islamabad. It was in benefit of the country to go after foreign fighters linked to other militants, she added.

However, the immediate priority of the forces will be combating militants who target security forces and civilians inside the country. She explained, “We are going after our own right now – foreign fighters and militants who are on our soil, who are attacking us”.

The Pakistani envoy was of the opinion that Pakistan will have to pay a high price if the allied countries fail to produce a stable Afghanistan after their withdrawal.

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Posted by Faisal Farooq on Jul 6 2012. Filed under Latest News, 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.