US offers $500m carrot, pushes govt to ‘do more’
* Clinton announces aid for water, power, agriculture and health sectors, seeks tougher action from Islamabad to combat militants
* Mistrust over US intentions in Pakistan is an inherited legacy, not going to end overnight
* Qureshi says two countries have agreed upon a ‘document of vision for long-term engagement’
ISLAMABAD: US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced more than $500 million in new aid projects for Pakistan on Monday, which Washington hopes will help win over a sceptical public in an ally vital to winning the war in Afghanistan.
At the same time, Clinton again said that both the US and Pakistan should work harder to go after al Qaeda leaders still believed to be hiding in Pakistan’s borderlands in the northwest. In a television interview between the talks, Clinton said she believed Osama bin Laden was still in Pakistan.
“We would like to work more closely together to go after them and either capture or kill them,” she told reporters. “I believe they are here in Pakistan and it would be really helpful if we could get them,” she added.
Speaking at a joint press briefing with her Pakistani counterpart Shah Mehmood Qureshi on the conclusion of the second round of what they called “elevated and extended” strategic dialogue, Clinton, said “we are making progress”, and acknowledged the long road ahead. She said, “We’re committed to building a partnership with Pakistan that goes far beyond security, to economy.”
Clinton said there was a need to go beyond the rhetoric to an in-depth dialogue.
Labelling terrorists: She confirmed that Washington planned to formally designate the Haqqani network a foreign terrorist organisation while cautiously welcoming other Afghan plans to talk with and reintegrate fighters who renounce violence.
“We know that the Haqqani network is behind many attacks in Afghanistan... it’s clearly a terrorist group,” Clinton told reporters.
She said any insurgents who wish to reconcile must lay down their arms, renounce any partnership with al Qaeda and accept Afghanistan’s constitution.
About the strategic dialogue, Clinton said it covered 13 areas leading to a project that focuses on energy, water, health, education, information and even export of Pakistani mangoes to the US market. The projects, the first to be launched under a new aid plan, are seen as crucial to shoring up support for the US-led struggle against terrorists in a country where opinion polls show that fewer than one in five view the US favourably.
Inherited legacy: Mistrust over US intentions in Pakistan is in part due to Washington’s decision to turn away from the country after enlisting its support to defeat the Soviets in Afghanistan in the 1980s.
“Of course there is a legacy of suspicion that we inherited. It is not going to be eliminated overnight,” Clinton said, adding that the US would stand by Pakistan against all those who were acting against the state of Pakistan.
Document: Foreign Minister Qureshi said Pakistan and the US have agreed upon a “document of vision for long-term engagement and to develop a partnership between people of the two countries”. Terming the dialogue a “very useful engagement”, he said it would promote and strengthen relations as it has now entered the implementation phase.
He said the next round of strategic dialogue would be held in October in Washington. He said Pakistan has been meeting its energy needs through nuclear power for 35 years and has a clear policy on non-proliferation. Qureshi said the civil nuclear projects would be open to inspection by the International Atomic Energy Agency.
Meanwhile, Clinton also met Chief of Army Staff General Ashfaq Kayani and “discussed matters of mutual interest”, according to an army statement.
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