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Pakistani PM sets conditions for relations with U.S.

PakShah

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Pakistani PM sets conditions for relations with U.S.


ISLAMABAD, Dec. 21 (Xinhua) -- Pakistani Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani on Wednesday said Pakistan wanted new rules of engagement with the United States with a guarantee to respect the country's sovereignty and assurance of "no Abbottabad-like unilateral action in future".

The prime minister said in case any credible and actionable information was available, it must be shared with Pakistan for necessary action. He stressed that the drone attacks must be stopped, which were causing collateral damage and were grossly detrimental to the government's efforts to isolate terrorists from local population.

The prime minister was addressing the meeting of Afghan and Pakistani parliamentary delegations held under the auspicious of Pakistan Institute of Legislative Development and Transparency at the PM House.

Gilani said Pakistan cut off NATO supplies, got Shamsi airbase vacated, and boycotted the Bonn Conference in the aftermath of the NATO attack on Pakistani Army checkpost on Nov. 26.

He said Pakistan wanted sovereign, independent, prosperous and stable Afghanistan, which was in its interest. Pakistan is a part of the solution and not part of the problem, the prime minister said.

The prime minister said the assassination of Prof. Burhanuddin Rabbani, head of the Afghan High Peace Council, was a severe setback to the peace and reconciliation efforts as he was a great supporter of friendship between Pakistan and Afghanistan.

During the meeting, Senator Besmellah Afghanmal, member of Meshrano Jirga and co-chairman of delegation, extended the best wishes to the Pakistani prime minister on behalf of the Afghan President Hamid Karzai. He recalled the statement of President Karzai that if Pakistan was attacked either by the United States or India, his country would stand by Pakistan.

Pakistani PM sets conditions for relations with U.S. - Xinhua | English.news.cn
 
Whatever the details that are worked out, the implicit message is that there is no option but to have a relationship with USA; it cannot be avoided. Hence, given that realization, I am positive that the present setback will be rectified appropriately, and relatively soon.
 
Beggars are not choosers. Pakistan needs US more than US needs Pakistan. Whatever PM Gilani is saying, is for the domestic consumption. There is nothing much Pakistan can do now to force US to accept the Pakistani conditions.
 
Beggars are not choosers. Pakistan needs US more than US needs Pakistan. Whatever PM Gilani is saying, is for the domestic consumption. There is nothing much Pakistan can do now to force US to accept the Pakistani conditions.

I disagree; both countries need each other to the point of being indispensable. The problem is that USA needs to be more cognizant of its limitations, and Pakistan needs to be more understanding of US goals; both tasks are not easy.
 
Beggars are not choosers. Pakistan needs US more than US needs Pakistan. Whatever PM Gilani is saying, is for the domestic consumption. There is nothing much Pakistan can do now to force US to accept the Pakistani conditions.

what pakistan needs from the US :lol::lol:
 
Whatever the details that are worked out, the implicit message is that there is no option but to have a relationship with USA; it cannot be avoided. Hence, given that realization, I am positive that the present setback will be rectified appropriately, and relatively soon.
Yes! U are absolutely right we will eastablish relationship with US if they leave the Afghanistan permanently and leave no soldier behind...I guess then we have no problems within the area and no terrorism either....:smokin:
 
I disagree; both countries need each other to the point of being indispensable. The problem is that USA needs to be more cognizant of its limitations, and Pakistan needs to be more understanding of US goals; both tasks are not easy.
I guess US is so dumb it didn't understand till now that Afghanistan is a dead end for any super power in the world nomatter what.....There is no way for US to do anything here other than to leave or break down into 52 pieces......The choice is upto the US....its fate is already decided....let it choose whatever it wants now......:smokin:
 
Not nomore cuz they are uglyyy as well as poison dipped.......:eek:

Pakistan criticises US aid freeze

ISLAMABAD — Pakistan on Thursday angrily criticised US moves to freeze $700 million in aid, the latest sign of the fraying alliance that has been in deep crisis since NATO fire killed 24 Pakistani soldiers.
"We believe that the move in the US Congress is not based on facts and takes narrow vision of overall situation hence wrong conclusions are unavoidable," foreign ministry spokesman Abdul Basit told reporters.
The US House of Representatives on Wednesday passed the legislation, which the Senate is expected to vote on as early as Thursday.
The bill would freeze the aid, pending assurances that Islamabad has taken steps to thwart militants who use improvised explosive devices (IEDs) against US-led forces in Afghanistan.
"If this legislation becomes law, we'll work with the government of Pakistan on how we can fulfill the requirements. But, this requires us to maintain a strategic perspective," US State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said.
Pakistan shut down the vital US supply line into neighbouring Afghanistan and ordered US personnel to leave the Shamsi air base, reportedly used as a hub by CIA drones, after attacks killed 24 soldiers on November 26.
Pakistan says it is reviewing terms of engagements with the United States and NATO, but parliament has so far stopped short of announcing any specific measures pending a joint session for which no date has been called.
A parliamentary committee is considering a proposal to scrap tax exemptions on NATO goods shipped to Pakistan and trucked to the Afghan border.
The powerful military, anyway, is considered the final arbiter of policy. It has bolstered its air defence systems on the Afghan border, where officials say 160,000 troops are deployed.
US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta visited American troops in Afghanistan close to the Pakistani border on Wednesday, calling on Islamabad to secure its side of the border, by cracking down on Taliban havens on its territory.
"I think the real question has to be what has been done on the Afghan side of the border," the Pakistani foreign ministry spokesman told reporters.
"Pakistan cannot be held responsible for weaknesses and loopholes on the other side of the border," he added.
 
Why Pakistan still needs U.S. assistance


U.S. aid cut to Pakistan could hurt economy

By Chris Allbritton and Zeeshan Haider
ISLAMABAD | Mon Jul 11, 2011 2:21pm EDT
(Reuters) - A U.S. decision to suspend $800 million in military aid will not affect Pakistani army operations, a Pakistani military spokesman said on Monday. But analysts say the move is likely to fray ties and could harm the country's economy.

White House Chief of Staff William Daley confirmed on Sunday a New York Times report that the Obama administration had held off a third of $2 billion in security aid in a show of displeasure over Pakistan's cutback of U.S. military trainers, limits on visa for U.S. personnel and other bilateral irritants.

The United States provides hundreds of millions of dollars a year to reimburse Pakistan for deploying more than 100,000 troops along the Afghan border to combat militant groups. Other funding covers training and military hardware. The White House announcement puts $300 million in reimbursement and another $500 million in aid in question.

"The tribal operations won't be affected" by the loss of U.S. assistance, said Pakistan's military spokesman, Major-General Athar Abbas. "We can conduct our operations without external support."

Some of the assistance, he said, was reimbursement for money already spent on several operations on the Afghan border rather than money for future operations.

"I don't think there will be any significant impact from this," he added.

Politically, however, it would be damaging to the relationship, said Pakistan's former ambassador to the United States, retired Major-General Mehmood Durrani said, reflecting a widespread view in Pakistan that it was fighting America's war, for which Washington must reimburse it.

"This is something that they have to pay, and if they don't then it's breach of agreement and breach of trust," he said.

In Washington, Pentagon spokesman Colonel David Lapan said the $800 million in U.S. aid had been put on hold and could be resumed if Pakistan increased the number of visas for U.S. personnel and reinstated the training missions.

"It's ... directly tied to those decisions by the Pakistani military to curtail training and to not grant visas for some of the U.S. personnel that we need to get in. So if those things change, then this aid will change as well," Lapan said.

Lapan said the aid that had been put on hold included money for training as well as equipment that ordinarily would be provided with a trainer or adviser.

Some of the aid put on hold was money from the Coalition Support Fund, which goes to reimburse U.S. allies for their assistance in counterterrorism operations, he said.

ECONOMIC IMPACT

Pakistan's economy could be hit if Washington holds back on the $300 million reimbursement from the Coalition Support Fund that Pakistan says it is owed.

Because it is reimbursements for money already spent on military operations, CSF monies go into the general treasury. So holding back these payments will not hurt the military, but would strain the country's finances further at a time when it is battling a deep downturn.

The money was expected by June 30, and its delay has already bumped Pakistan's fiscal deficit to 5.3 percent of gross domestic product for fiscal year 2010/11 (July-June), a finance ministry official said. With the CSF money, the deficit was anticipated to be 5.1 percent.

CSF money also supports Pakistan's current account. Though the July-May current account is in surplus by $205 million, it may not be able to maintain the surplus in the long term because of rising international oil prices and lower prices for cotton, its main cash crop.

Pakistan received $632 million from the CSF in its 2010/11 fiscal year. Finance ministry officials were unavailable for comment.

The cutback in assistance is part of a high-stakes stand-off between the United States and Pakistan, said Ayesha Siddiqa, an expert on the Pakistan military. Washington has given up on winning Pakistani hearts and minds and is now counting on Pakistan's precarious financial situation to bring it onside.

"America understands that Pakistan needs money," she said. "Pakistan is insolvent. It cannot disengage (from the United States), so eventually it will turn around."

DOWNWARD SPIRAL

The U.S.-Pakistan relationship has been on a downward spiral since last year, but the decline accelerated after the killing of two Pakistanis by a CIA contractor in Lahore in January and the U.S. raid to kill Osama bin Laden, which Pakistan complains it was not told about and says was a breach of its sovereignty.

Pakistan has demanded the number of U.S. military personnel in Pakistan be slashed, and the U.S. has complied. Pakistan also wants to cut the number of U.S. intelligence officials.

If ties became truly frigid, Pakistan could seek closer links with China, it's single largest arms supplier.
 

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