Endgame: Pakistan, U.S. hold talks on post-2014 transition in Afghanistan

As the Afghan endgame fast approaching, Pakistani Foreign Minister, Hina Rabbani Khar, and the U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, have held talks on , the post 2014 transition in Afghanistan, the Foreign Ministry said Tuesday.

The United States, which has currently more than 60,000 troops in Afghanistan as part of nearly 150,000 NATO force, plans to withdraw all its combat troops by 2014.

The U.S. will need Pakistan’s role in exit strategy and the country’s land routes will be crucial for troops and equipment withdrawal.

Foreign Minister Khar and Secretary Clinton met in Brussels and discussed counter terrorism, support for the Afghan-led and Afghan-owned peace process, the post 2014 transition in Afghanistan, the Foreign Ministry said.

Khar and the army Chief, General Ashfaq Pervaiz Kayani, are in Brussels to meet European and NATO leaders for bilateral and regional issues, focusing on Pakistan’s role to push the peace process in Afghanistan. General Kayani will have interaction with the NATO and European military leaders, military sources say.

The Foreign Minister and the U.S. Secretary also discussed various measures to further strengthen bilateral relations including the need to move the US-Pakistan economic agenda from aid to trade, emphasizing market access and investment, a Foreign Ministry statement said. The meeting was part of their regular consultations, it said.

“They welcomed the recent meetings of the trilateral Corp Groups and the law enforcement, economic and defence working groups,” the Foreign Ministry said.

They also looked forward to meetings of the energy and strategic stability working groups and underlined the importance to continue these engagements in the weeks and months ahead.

They reviewed the progress the two countries have made during 2012 and expressed their commitment to act jointly to achieve their shared objectives.

Bilateral interaction has increased following the U.S. apology over the killing of 24 Pakistani soldiers in NATO airstrike in Mohmand tribal region in November 2011.

The foreign ministers’ talks coincided with the two-day meeting of top Pakistani and U.S. military officials in Rawalpindi, who are discussing defence, strategic security issues and to explore ways to accelerate cooperation in the coming months.

Both sides are reviewing progress on the implementation of decision in the previous meeting of the Defense Consultative Group (DCG), officials said.

The Vice Defence Minister for American Policy Dr. James Miller is leading a 25-member U.S. delegation in the DCG meeting at the defence ministry. The meeting will conclude later on Tuesday and a joint statement will be issued at the conclusion of the consultations.

The meeting is part of the overall U.S. Pakistan Strategic Dialogue. Both sides are also discussing the counterinsurgency/counterterrorism issues and Pakistan’s defence requirements, official sources said.

A short defence ministry statement says that the two sides on their first day of talks on Monday also reviewed coordination to meet challenges along the Pak-Afghan border.

The DCG is the primary forum for exchanging views and coordinating defense policy discussions, with the goal of strengthening the defense relationship based on mutual interest, mutual respect and mutual trust.

Short URL: https://www.newspakistan.pk/?p=35670

Posted by Tahir Khan on Dec 4 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.