Pakistan will 'discontinue' talks with US this month if asked to 'do more' to combat terror

[NOWorNEVER]

NEW DELHI: Pakistan may immediately discontinue talks with US officials visiting there this month if they insist it "do more against terror"+ , reported a Pakistani newspaper, citing a "well placed source".

What's more, Pakistan "won't accept" any pressure to compromise on the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) either, the source said to The Express Tribune newspaper.

US secretary of state Rex Tillerson and acting assistant secretary of state Alice Wells are expected to visit Islamabad this month for talks on the US's new Afghan policy, which has been met with extreme disfavour by Pakistan. Unveiling the new Afghan policy in August, US President Donald Trump savaged Pakistan for its terror safe havens and threatened to punish it if it didn't take decisive action against terror elements+ .

"If the US foreign secretary demands for more action from Islamabad then there will be only one answer from the government: 'No more do more'," the source told The Express Tribune newspaper.

The US is aware that Pakistan may discontinue talks, the Tribune said in its report, adding that Pakistan's foreign minister recently conveyed to the US that its new Afghan policy is "not acceptable" to Pakistan.

"During the visit, Pakistan will judge as to whether the US is serious to expand its relations with Pakistan. If the US foreign secretary gave any assurance of adopting a strategy to remove Pakistan's reservations on new Afghan policy, the federation will start next phase of talks with Trump authorities," the source reportedly said.
Islamabad will make its stance clear to the US and will let it know that "Pakistan has already offered countless sacrifices for elimination of terrorism", the report said.

Another touchy subject, that of CPEC, might also feature in these talks. The US has expressed its reservations about the project because it goes through disputed territory.
"Work on the CPEC project will continue come what may. Pakistan's priority is not the US but China because Pakistan's economic future is associated with the CPEC," the source said to the Tribune.

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com...or-says-media-report/articleshow/61003782.cms

 

[AZ1]

US can not and should not involve any CPEC talk at all as it's not and should not be their main concern. It will make things worse for relationship with Pakistan and they will be insane to talk on these subjects.

 

[war&peace]

The moment they utter the word CPEC, they should be asked to leave the room.

 

[Sheikh Rauf]

Pakistan is going to take a very smart move keeping both hands in pocket and letting them put pressure war is never a solution india is doing bad in Afg and US want india to put her boots on ground we need to keep this time pass underpressure.

 

[Mrc]

The moment they utter the word CPEC, they should be asked to leave the room.

Rather should b asked to leave the country

 

[volatile]

CPEC is just a card for US to play to black mail or leverage the support they needed but shutup call from CHina makes it irrelevant

 

[Taimoor Khan]

Its our region, we set the agenda. Its either our way or high way.

 

[Imran Khan]

Usa is become joke under trump

 

[Trango Towers]

Finally.

 

[Skyliner]

We are now going for Block 3 and then 5th Gen , my question is that do we have the capability to produce F-16 spares here in Pakistan ?

Did you not saw what this thread is about, or you will post anything anywhere you want!

 

[Clutch]

Pakistan no more reliant on US for military needs: Prime Minister Abbasi
Dawn.comUpdated October 09, 2017
1350
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Pakistan is no more reliant on the United States for military requirements and will reach out to others if one source [of military supplies] dries up, Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbas said in an interview with the Arab News on Sunday.

"If one source dries up, we have no option but to go to another source. It may cost more, it may consume more resources, but we have to fight that war, and that’s what we emphasised to all the people that we met," said the PM. "We have major US weapons systems in our military, but we’ve also diversified. We have Chinese and European systems. Recently, for the first time we inducted Russian attack helicopters."

Reiterating his stance on Pakistan's fight against terrorism, Abbasi said that the world needs to recognise the country's efforts. "Any sanctions or restraints […] put on our systems only degrades our efforts to fight terror, and it affects the whole equation in this region," he was quoted as saying.

Speaking about his "unscheduled" meetings on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), he said that they were held on the request of the US administration and proved to be "very constructive".

ARTICLE CONTINUES AFTER AD
Abbasi’s meeting with VP Pence was the highest contact between the two sides since Trump's new policy was announced on Aug 21. Pakistan had after the policy announcement postponed the then planned bilateral interactions.

Read: Rocky Pak-US ties?

"Whatever concerns they [the US] have, we’ve shown our willingness to address those concerns,” Abbasi said about his meeting with US Vice President Mike Pence.

"We can categorically state that we don’t provide any sanctuaries to anybody," he said, refuting repeated US allegations of terrorist sanctuaries in Pakistan. "Today we have a common objective: to destroy terror and bring peace to Afghanistan."

'No role for India'
"We don’t believe that injecting India into the Pakistan-US relationship will help resolve anything, especially in Afghanistan, where we don’t see any role for India."

"The reality today is that much of the area bordering Pakistan is controlled by the Taliban," Abbasi said, adding that terrorists from Afghanistan carry out attacks in Pakistan which is why Pakistan was fencing its western borders.

"Whatever happens in Afghanistan, affects us. Whatever happens here, affects them."

'Pakistan will not go to IMF'
While speaking to the Arab News on the economic challenges the country is facing, the prime minister said that Pakistan will neither reach out to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), nor devalue its currency.

He conceded that declining reserves is a serious issue but said that Pakistan will look to solve it within its own resources. "I don’t think the IMF program is something that we intend to pursue."

Abbasi also accepted that falling exports and rising imports were widening the current account deficit but, he said, falling exports is a worldwide trend while the rise in imports "actually signals growth in the economy because the people have more money to spend on luxury goods."

Pinning economic hopes on the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), Abbasi said that the project will boost Pakistan's infrastructure which he termed "the basic ingredient" of any economy.

Read more: Exclusive: The CPEC plan for Pakistan’s digital future

"It’s really a game-changer and it will have multiplier effect. It will attract more investment, it will attract more projects. So, it’s really something that we feel will pay very high dividends for Pakistan."

According to the Arab News article, Abbasi rejected suggestions that large investments would give China undue influence in Pakistan. “It’s a two-way relationship,” he said.

He added that Pakistan does not see the CPEC as being "a threat of any kind". "They have equity investments here but mostly, it is debt or loans of some kind and it is basically focused on certain areas."

"Pakistan’s economy has the capacity to repay those loans. They have been targeted very carefully and the economic dividends will pay for more than the loans are worth. So, it’s an economic relationship in that sense."

 

[YeBeWarned]

USA has its own problems , trump need to focus on that

 

[Trango Towers]

World has gone mad when one country tells another you can't build a road. Joke or what

 

[cloud4000]

CPEC is just a card for US to play to black mail or leverage the support they needed but shutup call from CHina makes it irrelevant

US just cares about Afghanistan. It can do little about CPEC except throw India a bone in public.

Usa is become joke under trump

US foreign policy is like Trump: incoherent and unpredictable.

 

[Mrc]

I don't like these talks any ways.... Americans are cunning