US, Pak reaffirm commitment to strategic partnership

April 22nd, 2011 - 3:28 pm ICT by ANI  

Washington, April 22(ANI): The United States and Pakistan “shared their strategic vision” and reaffirmed their commitment to wide-ranging strategic partnership as US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Pakistan Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir met at the State Department.

Clinton said that both countries should “work and succeed together,” the Dawn quoted Pakistan’s Ambassador to the United States, Hussain Haqqani, as telling reporters, citing the chief US diplomat’s remarks.

Clinton’s presence during the Pakistan-US steering group discussions reflected the level of US commitment to the important relationship, Haqqani added.

Bashir was assured by his American interlocutors that Washington stands for stability of his country since a stable Pakistan is in the interests of everyone, including the United States.

“We also underscored the importance of a peaceful and stable Afghanistan,” Haqqani said of the discussions.

Both sides “shared their strategic vision,” at a meeting of the steering group- led by Bashir and US Special Representative for Pakistan and Afghanistan, Marc Grossman- as they met to stress common objectives towards anti-terror success, Haqqani said.

He stressed that the Pakistan-US relationship endures and retains its strength, and expressed the confidence that the two sides would be able to overcome any issues to move the strategic partnership forward.

Responding to a question, Haqqani said that there were no differences between the US and Pakistan in the resolve to curb terrorism, but there could be differences on how to proceed with the fight in the operational sense.

The Pakistan leadership is clear that the army will take action against militants on Pakistan’s soil in accordance with their state of their preparedness, he added.

Responding to another question, Haqqani said that Pakistan would deal with foreign policy issues in a different manner in the Musharraf era, but under the current democratic government, the country wants to conduct and formalize arrangements that are in accordance with constitution. (ANI)

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