Foreign
Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif met U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson at the
State Department today for a wide-ranging exchange of views on bilateral and
regional issues of mutual interest, says a press release received from
Washington DC here today.
The Foreign Minister, visiting
Washington at Secretary Tillerson's invitation, said that Pakistan and the
United States shared a common desire for peace and stability in Afghanistan and
the region at large. He emphasized that Pakistan sought a broad based
relationship with United States building on a seven decade long history of
successful cooperation.
Foreign Minister pointed out that
Pakistan is winning its war against terrorism. In contrast to other countries,
the incidence of terrorism in Pakistan has seen a marked decline – with a
salutary impact on economic and commercial activity. This was made possible
because Pakistan has pursued a zero-tolerance and indiscriminate approach in
its campaign against all terrorist and militant groups. He informed the
Secretary of State with regard to the strong public reaction in Pakistan to the
pronouncement of US Administration’s South Asia Policy – based on inadequate
recognition of Pakistan’s sterling contribution in the fight against terrorism.
He added that in addition to huge human and material cost incurred by Pakistan,
our cultural ethos as a moderate state had suffered due to protracted
instability in Afghanistan.
Secretary Tillerson acknowledged and
appreciated the sacrifices rendered by the people and armed forces of Pakistan
in the struggle against terrorism. He agreed that cooperation between Pakistan
and the United States in Afghanistan was crucial to achieving durable peace and
stability in the region. He remarked that Pakistan’s interests and concerns
will be accommodated since its role was critical to President Trump’s South
Asia Strategy. He added that future stability of Pakistan was an important element
of the Strategy.
The Foreign Minister reiterated
Pakistan's position on the need for an Afghan-led and Afghan-owned political
approach to achieving peace and stability in Afghanistan. He conveyed
Pakistan's concerns with regard to ungoverned spaces within Afghanistan, from
which attacks against Pakistan continued to be planned and carried out. The
Foreign Minister urged the United States to take note of the gross human rights
violations being perpetrated by Indian security forces in Occupied Kashmir. He
said peace in South Asia would remain out of reach until the resolution of all
longstanding disputes, including the core dispute of Jammu and Kashmir.
Inviting Secretary Tillerson to visit
Islamabad to continue their discussions, the Foreign Minister stressed that a
broad-based and structured framework for dialogue would best serve the two
countries' mutual interests.
Secretary Tillerson accepted the
invitation to visit Pakistan at an early date. Both sides agreed to remain
constructively engaged with a view to achieving the shared objectives of peace,
stability and economic prosperity in the region.