Biden's Pakistan trip US tones down demand for Waziristan offensive

[ajpirzada]

US vice president meets Zardari, Gilani, Gen Kayani; says US is not an `enemy of Islam' " Close partnership is in the vital selfinterest of both, the US and Pakistan US Vice President Joe Biden

Pakistan and the United States have covered `significant ground' to iron out their differences for Afghanistan's future after Washington apparently toned down its demand for a full-scale military offensive in the North Waziristan tribal region.
A meeting between US Vice President Joe Biden and Army chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani was described by a senior security official as “very positive and constructive.“

“Both countries have narrowed down their differences on certain issues that haunted them in the past,“ the official told The Express Tribune on condition of anonymity.

Biden, on a daylong trip to Islamabad, held talks with top political and military leadership. Earlier, he toured Afghanistan to reassure that the US forces will remain in the war-torn country beyond the 2014 pullout deadline, if Kabul wants them to.

His visit came as the war in Afghanistan enters a decisive phase and the Obama administration is pushing Pakistan to do more to eliminate al Qaeda `safe havens' from the tribal belt.

“The Americans now understand our position on North Waziristan * they are no longer pushing us,“ the security official said, adding that Biden had offered additional economic and military assistance to Pakistan.

“The meeting between Kayani and Biden was very fruitful,“ said another military official privy to the matter.

A statement issued by the BIDEN'S PAKISTAN TRIP, P Inter-Service Public Relations said little about the meeting between the vice president and the army chief. “The visiting dignitary remained with him for some time and discussed matters of mutual interest,“ said the brief statement. The US embassy spokesperson also declined to comment.

Earlier, at a joint news conference with Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani, Biden attempted to dispel misperceptions in Pakistan about America's role in the region.

“There are some sections in Pakistani society that suggest America disrespects Islam and its followers,“ Biden told report ers. “We are not the enemies of Islam and we embrace those who practice this great religion in our country,“ said Biden, adding that Pakistan and the US were facing a common enemy, ie the militancy threat to both the countries.

“They (al Qaeda) continue to plot attacks against the United States and our interests to this very day,“ he insisted.

Terming his discussions with the Pakistani leadership as `extremely useful,' Biden underlined the need for a strong partnership between Pakistan and the US.

“A close partnership between Pakistan and its people is in the vital self-interest of the United States and, I would argue, in the vital self-interest of Pakistan as well,“ Biden said.

“We know that there are those * I am not talking about leadership, I am talking about the public discourse * (who believe) that in America's fight against al Qaeda, we've imposed a war upon Pakistan,“ he remarked.

Meanwhile, Premier Gilani said high-level consultations between the two countries were necessary to attain “our shared goals.“ The prime minister informed Biden about his recent meeting with Afghan President Hamid Karzai and said Pakistan will continue to pursue its policy of non-intervention and of respecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Afghanistan. He added that Pakistan hopes “there will be no new great game“ pertaining to Afghanistan and said that it does not expect any country to indulge in any proxy war or measures that have an impact on Pakistan or Afghanistan's sovereignty. Gilani also rejected the US assertion that certain elements were operating from areas along the Pak-Afghan border.

In his meeting with Biden, President Asif Ali Zardari called for a close, stable, long-term and broad-based relationship between Pakistan and the United States for promoting peace, stability and progress in the region and beyond.

He also said that Pakistan was committed to fight terrorism and underlined the need for support and understanding of the international community in this effort.

Presidential spokesperson Farhatullah Babar quoted the president as saying that drone attacks undermined the national consensus against the war on militancy, adding that the president reiterated Pakistan’s call for transfer of drone technology for use by its own security forces against the militants.

Zardari also sought increased market access to the US and called upon them to create a special category for conflict-affected countries under its GSP Plus programme.

Appreciating Pakistan’s fight against militants, Biden reit

erated US support to Pakistan, assuring that the new US administration would support Pakistan's efforts to strengthen democracy, countering terrorism and in meeting its developmental needs and capacity building.
While condemning Salmaan Taseer's assassination, Biden said the United States was “saddened by the cold-blooded murder of a decent, brave man.“ “The governor was killed simply because he was a voice of tolerance and understanding, “ he said.

Earlier, Biden telephoned Amna Taseer, the widow of the slain governor, to express his condolences on behalf of the president and the American people.

Biden's Pakistan trip US tones down demand for Waziristan offensive

 

[majesticpankaj]

US patience on N.Waziristan wearing thin, warns Biden

ISLAMABAD: Making it clear that the US patience was running out with Pakistan’s indecision on military action against militants’ hideouts in North Waziristan, Vice President Joe Biden unequivocally told his interlocutors here on Wednesday that the Americans would not wait indefinitely.

Mr Biden, who was here on a day-long visit to Pakistan, held talks with both civilian and military leaders, mainly focused on the endgame in Afghanistan, the existence of militant sanctuaries in Pakistan’s tribal areas and the radicalisation of Pakistani society.

The US vice president stayed for about six hours in the federal capital during which he separately met President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani before concluding his visit by calling on Army Chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani at the military headquarters where, sources say, most of the substantive discussions about an operation in North Waziristan, reconciliation in Afghanistan and other issues pertaining to the coalition force’s operations in Afghanistan were held.

North Waziristan has been a source of friction in relations between the two allies because of the US demand for a military offensive in the region along Pak-Afghan border which Washington says are the launching pad for violence in Afghanistan. But Pakistani military leadership has been resisting the American pressure by insisting that it was constrained by operations against militants in other areas and efforts to consolidate the gains made in the fight against extremists. The army says it will move into North Waziristan at a time of its own choosing.

US difficulties in Afghanistan and its desperation to have a fully cooperative Pakistan were always evident, but they became more obvious after Mr Biden’s Kabul visit.

When he departed for Afghanistan, the White House announced: “The primary purpose of the trip is to assess progress towards the transition to Afghan-led security beginning this year.” But towards the conclusion of his trip the focus of American timeline had shifted to 2014.

The vice president did not offer any new economic and security package to help shore up the beleaguered government. Sources said he only reiterated his pledge to redouble efforts to get the Reconstruction Opportunity Zones (RoZs) legislation adopted by the Congress and help increase Pak-US trade.

Mr Biden, on his second visit to Pakistan, was said to have come here “holding carrots and brandishing sticks”. Apart from the commitment on RoZs and trade the only carrot he carried was apparently an increased deference to Pakistan’s sensitivities. The few sticks he brandished in his private conversations with Pakistani leaders were also sensitively wrapped in diplomatic jargon.

The importance that Mr Biden attached to his visit to the army headquarters was evident from the fact that he replied to most of the issues which General Kayani raised in a document he had given to President Obama on the sidelines of the last round of Strategic Dialogue held in Washington.

In the much-publicised document, whose content hasn’t been officially disclosed by either side Gen Kayani had listed the ‘complaints of people of Pakistan’ against the US, including the transactional nature of its ties with Islamabad, America’s inner desire to defang and destabilise Pakistan and its indifference to Pakistan’s strategic concerns particularly vis-à-vis India.

During his close to 16-minute press conference alongside Prime Minister Gilani, Mr Biden largely focused on the concerns communicated by Gen Kayani, which he described as ‘misconceptions about US actions and even more importantly about US intentions with regard to Pakistan’. And as if he wanted to respond to Gen Kayani in his own words, he started his reply to those concerns by saying: “I am not talking about leadership, I am talking about what has been in the public discourse.”

He sought to dispel a conception that the US had drawn Pakistan into war. He said violent extremists were not a threat only to the United States, but also to Pakistan and the entire civilised world. He stressed that Al Qaeda and the Taliban continued to pose a threat to the US and its interests from their sanctuaries in Pakistan’s tribal areas.

“They (Al Qaeda) continue to plot attacks against the United States and our interests to this very day and they have, not with your help, but they have found refuge in the most remote portions of your country.”

Attempting to make the Pakistanis wake up to the threat the extremists posed to the country and its people, he cautioned that “societies that tolerate such actions wind up being consumed by those actions.”

Mr Biden set the tone for the Islamabad trip by voicing concern in Kabul over Pakistan being too soft with the Taliban.

“It is going to require more pressure on the Taliban from Pakistani side of the border than we have been able to observe so far,” the vice president said in the Afghan capital.

In an apparent reference to the drone attacks and occasional intrusion by Nato jets seen here as a violation of country’s sovereignty, he said Washington was working with Islamabad to restore sovereignty violated by extremists.

“I would respectfully suggest that it is the extremists who violate Pakistan’s sovereignty and corrupt its good name. The US is working to restore and strengthen sovereignty in areas where extremists violated it.”

Other ‘misgivings’ that he tried to dispel included the impression that America disrespected Islam; its (US) policies favoured India and sought to weaken and dismantle Pakistan; and that Americans would abandon the region leaving Pakistan behind to deal with the mess. “We want what you want – a strong, stable, prosperous and democratic Pakistan at peace with itself and its neighbours, including India. We want that not just for your sake but we wish your success because it’s in our own interest, it’s in the interest of the entire region and I would argue the entire world.”

According to private TV channels, top Foreign Office officials told a group of journalists after Mr Biden’s press conference that Pakistan hoped there would not be “any new great game pertaining to Afghanistan” after the United States withdrew its troops from there.

The vice president also rejected the notion that the US was inclined to maintaining the transactional nature of its relationship with Pakistan. To support his contention he pointed to the renewed Strategic Dialogue and the $7.5 billion Kerry-Lugar-Berman Act, which he reminded was finalised in “very difficult economic times”.

After these clarifications, Mr Biden proceeded directly to the army headquarters without taking questions from journalists, citing schedule limitation.

Officially nothing was said about the all-important meeting at the GHQ except for a customary two-liner from Inter-Services Public Relations: “Mr Joseph R. Biden, United States Vice President called on Chief of Army Staff General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani today. The visiting dignitary remained with him for some time and discussed matters of mutual interest.”

But sources insist that Mr Biden was very ‘focused, pointed and candid’ in his discussions urging the military leadership to give up its ambivalence on the operation in North Waziristan.

www.dawn.com - Security Verification

 

[Abu Zolfiqar]

bottom line is, we have our own priorities as we have our own interests at stake.....no outsider can tell us when to do and when not to do an operation of this kind

if you only adopt military solution, enemy will just disguise themselves as civilians and then disperse to neigbhouring agencies.....previous incidents have shown they can even slip into the main cities. Therefore there should be no rush, but ground intel should continue to be flowing and be shared with the police and local lashkars. The govt. needs to do more to work with the youth of these areas as they are the ones most prone to brain-washing.

ROZs have been talked about for years, unfortunately they are being delayed over and over again needlessly. ROZs and SEZs are vital to bring more employment and economic opportunities to war affected areas. They should work closely with Pakistani private sector and of course the NGOs and civil society groups operating there.

Pakistan has genuine concerns in Afghanistan and they must be adhered to and addressed.....

 

[Ghareeb_Da_Baal]

^^^^^^^^^ I remember this reporter on Faux news in 2002. He basically siad that Paksitan cannot have interests that conflict with the US interests in response to a question from Wobble head Cavuto I believe...... Just sayin

 

[Abu Zolfiqar]

ground realities since 2002 have changed dramatically, not all for the better....as the realities change, so do the threats and thusly priorities

 

[graphican]

All these visits, "warm assertions" and promises of "long-run cooperation" are only leading to one conclusion that US is not getting what it wanted and it is also out of other options that it had to appear on public and demand that so openly.

But whatever you'r doing uncle sam.. your good is not in our hands. Fight your war and die your death.