The Pak-US strategic dialogue

[Spring Onion]

US willing to consider nuke cooperation with Pak: Hillary Clinton
PTI, Mar 23, 2010, 07.42pm IST

ISLAMABAD: Notwithstanding India's reservations, the US on Tuesday said it would "consider" Pakistan's request for a civil nuclear deal as it wanted to help the country meet its immediate and long-term energy needs.

Ahead of the crucial bilateral strategic dialogue between the US and Pakistan on Wednesday, secretary of state Hillary Clinton made it clear that the issue of energy would be one of the subjects of discussion but refused to pre-judge the outcome of the talks.

"I am sure that's going to be raised and we are going to be considering it but I can't pre-judge or pre-empt what the outcome of our discussions will be," Clinton said when asked whether Pakistan can have a civil nuclear deal with the US similar to the one Washington has with India.

"On the energy issues specifically there are more immediate steps that could be taken. We want to help Pakistan with an immediate and long term needs," Clinton told Pakistan's Express TV in an interview.

Ever since the US signed the nuclear deal with India, Pakistan has been repeatedly seeking similar cooperation. However, the previous Bush administration had refused to entertain the request arguing that the non-proliferation records of India and Pakistan were not comparable.

The first indications of US' willingness to discuss civil nuclear cooperation with Pakistan came two days back from US ambassador to Islamabad Anne Patterson who said that America's non-proliferation concerns were beginning to pass and nuclear cooperation is a scenario that can be explored.

India has voiced unhappiness over such moves and has asked the US to keep in mind Pakistan's track record of clandestine nuclear proliferation.

New Delhi has underlined that the right balance has to be struck between meeting energy needs of a country and the track record of that state.

India points to the clandestine proliferation network run by the father of Pakistan's nuclear programme A Q Khan which is believed to have provided nuclear technology and material to countries like North Korea and Syria.

US willing to consider nuke cooperation with Pak: Hillary Clinton - US - World - The Times of India

 

[sonicboom]

Pak seeks N-deal, drone tech, military hardware from US

Tuesday, March 23, 2010 19:36

Washington, DC: Ahead of its strategic dialogue with the US, Pakistan has submitted a 56-page document to the Obama Administration seeking a civil nuclear deal, drone technology and military hardware to bring itself on par with India, according to a media report.

In the document, which is believed to have been submitted to the US before the arrival of the high-power Pakistani delegation here on Saturday last, Islamabad also seeks American help in revival of the Indo-Pak dialogue stalled since the Mumbai attacks and resolving its chronic water and power shortages.


The Pakistani delegation for tomorrow's strategic dialogue include army chief Gen Ashfaq Pervez Kayani and ISI's Lt Gen Shuja Pasha. It is headed by foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, who would co-chair the strategic dialogue with secretary of state Hillary Clinton.


The 56-page Pakistani document outlines a range of aid Islamabad is seeking from the US, The Wall Street Journal reported citing American and Pakistani officials who have seen it or been briefed on its contents.


The daily said Pakistan's fears of being outflanked by India, which has forged close ties with the Afghan government, are reflected in the document's indirect language about regional security issues.


"The document raises concerns about India's effort to modernise its military, in part through buying US equipment and weapons," it said.


The high-level meeting between senior Pakistani and US officials here tomorrow "aims to stitch together their fraying alliance," the report said.


"Right now, we're looking at something that could deliver a big part of our success in Afghanistan," a senior US military official was quoted as saying.


"Many of Pakistan's requests build on longstanding demands for more US assistance. But officials on both sides say that by detailing them in a single comprehensive document, Islamabad is trying to signal its willingness to align its interests with those of Washington, its vision for a partnership—and its price," the newspaper said.


Among the requests is "greater cooperation between its spy agency and US intelligence outfits, more helicopter gunships and other military hardware needed to battle its own Taliban insurgency, and improved surveillance technology, such as pilot-less drone aircraft," The Wall Street Journal said.


"Pakistan also wants a civilian nuclear energy cooperation deal with the US, and a role in any future peace talks between the Western-backed Afghan government and the Taliban," it reported.


Post 9/11 attacks in the US, Pakistan has received more than $17.5 billion in American aid. Last year, the Congress passed a legislation to give $7.5 billion in civilian aid to Pakistan in five years.


Given the trust-deficit between the two countries, the Pakistani request is likely to raise eyebrows at least at the Capitol Hill, which is keen to ensure that its tax-payers money is not wasted.


Earlier this week, two top US senators -- John Kerry and Richard Lugar -- wrote to Secretary of State Clinton, raising serious questions about the distribution of aid to Pakistan and the issue of accountability.


Qureshi is scheduled to meet both Kerry and Lugar, who are chairman and Ranking Member respectively of the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee.


He had a preliminary meeting with Special US Representative for Pakistan and Afghanistan, Richard Holbrooke, yesterday, while Gen Kayani met defence secretary Robert Gates at Pentagon.


The Wall Street Journal said top US officials still believe that Pakistani intelligence agencies continue to have links with the Taliban and other terrorist elements.


"US officials have complained that Pakistan's intelligence services continued to offer clandestine support for the Taliban, which it has long viewed as a proxy it could use to secure its influence in Afghanistan and keep archival India out after an eventual US withdrawal," it said.


"Everything with the Pakistanis is two steps forward and one step back," said a senior US military official involved in talks with the Pakistanis, according to the daily.


"Anybody who expects straight linear progress out of a strategic dialogue between these two nations is really kind of naive. What it will be is a step forward and then we'll see where they go with it," the official was quoted as saying.

Pak seeks N-deal, drone tech, military hardware from US - dnaindia.com

 

[Aamir Hussain]

In my opinoin the "Strategic Dialogue's" are traditionly a long drawn out process spread over two to three years. It took India that much time to get the nuclear deal which was part of their strategic dialogue. So, we should not expect much except for the following:

1. Revival of ROZ assistance
2. Access to US markets both ROZ & Non ROZ
3. Speeded up deliveries of held up CSF money
4. Speed up of urgent military supplies through own US stocks
5. Expanded role of Pakistan in negotiations on Afghanistan -- being done but now a more clearer role will be hammered out.

The rest has to be approved by Congress after being put up by the Democrat Govt.

1. US Nunclear Assistance -- Only after Iron Clad Gurantes on non proleferation including intrusive access to stockpiles and access to all nuclear facillities that are producing energy
2. Enhancement of US Aid
3. Long term strategic assistance beyod the five year aid

On the issue of Water, Kashmir, & Indian involvement, US stance would want to work with Pakistan but not much would come out of this unless they reinfoce the back channel diplomacy. However, the water issue becomes an issue where US can pressurize India alongwith UK (Both were guarantors of the World Bank sponsored Indus Basin Treaty).

As far as the F-16 & the Perry -- it is a doable thing since Pakistan already has an option for 18 more -- the money may come out of the military Aid. The Perry is already a done deal (I am not sure about the final number). This is one of the areas where US can speed up deliveries by speeding up the retirement plans ( this has been done in the past for Egypt).

It is my guess only based upon basic 2+2=4 formula!!!

 

[Rank]

hona wona kuch nahe hey America nay apni dhuk bhari kahani sunani hey pakistan waloon nay apni dhuk bari kahani end may hona wohi hey 10 bando ke list daykar unhonay kehna hey

US- DO more
PK - ask more (AID)

woh wapis apnay ghar may ham apnay ghar may!

thats the fact and we have seen this from last 20 years lol

But yes this time i have only 1 hope because Army chief (Kiyani not musharaf puppet) only Kiyani is the person who already shown some brilliant performance hope hope so kuch hojaye good otherwise i have no trust on our BS GOP leadership.

 

[Choppers]

US lining up billions more to reward Pak​

Chidanand Rajghatta, TNN, Mar 24, 2010, 12.53am IST


WASHINGTON: The Obama administration will expedite more than $500 million in military support reimbursements to Pakistan and facilitate an even greater unspecified amount in concessional aid and trade to reward Islamabad for selectively ditching the Taliban and helping the US in the conflict in Afghanistan.

Broad contours of an expansive US program to ramp up aid disbursal, trade concessions, and military support to Pakistan began to emerge this week amid continuing doubts about Islamabad's bonafides, including its reluctance to train its guns away from India.

Expanded American support is expected to include significant aid to help Pakistan address its energy and water crisis, but no outright commitment to conclude a civilian nuclear deal on the lines of the United States-India agreement, although Washington has agreed to discuss the Pakistani request.

"We are going to be announcing a range of actions, some big some small, that move the process forward on issues from energy to water to education, to security issues. The Congress will be involved", Richard Holbrooke, the administration's ****** envoy said on Monday.

Holbrooke's comment came after his meeting with Pakistan's foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, who demanded that Washington "walk the talk" and reward Pakistan for its commitment against terror, ahead of the March 24 talks at the State Department.

Underlying that exchange is apprehensions expressed in some Pakistani quarters that the ministerial level strategic dialogue will end up with just American exhortations to "do more" and already announced aid dressed up in new numbers amounting to billions.

US lining up billions more to reward Pak - US - World - The Times of India

 

[mshoaib61]

 

[BlackSonic]

Personally I am not interested in what US is doing or providing to Pakistan but it will be interesting to see what Pakistan does in return.

 

[karan.1970]

Hillary douses Pak's ire on water; says it's a bilateral issue - US - World - The Times of India

Chidanand Rajghatta, TNN, Mar 24, 2010, 08.52am IST
WASHINGTON: The United States has doused a major Pakistani complaint against India on water sharing, telling Islamabad it would be "sensible" to look to the existing bilateral mechanism to resolve the issue with New Delhi.

Ahead of a two-day "strategic dialogue" between US and Pakistan, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton rejected Islamabad's efforts to have Washington mediate in its grievance against India on water issues, while offering US help on better using its existing resources.

"We're well aware that there is a 50-year-old agreement between Pakistan and India concerning water," Clinton told a Pakistani interviewer who suggested a US role in the matter. "Where there is an agreement... with mediation techniques, arbitration built in, it would seem sensible to look to what already exists to try to resolve any of the bilateral problems between India and Pakistan."

The high-level Pakistani delegation that will begin talks with US interlocutors on Wednesday had penciled its water "dispute" with India as one of the items that needed US intervention. Some Indian experts believe Pakistan is essentially extrapolating the water issue to seek US mediation on Kashmir (since river heads are mostly in Kashmir), a subject Washington is leery of touching.

Pakistan has raised the water issue to toxic levels in recent months, going to the extent of accusing India of "stealing" water and terming it "water terrorism." India, which progressively viewed the heightening rhetoric with incredulity and lately alarm, has rejected the charges.

Indian experts, and even some Pakistani analysts, say the Pakistani establishment has deliberately whipped up a frenzy on the issue to counter Indian focus on Pakistan-sponsored terrorism and deflect attention from intra-provincial water disputes arising from poor utilization of existing resources.

Clinton referred to it as much, saying the US wanted to "help Pakistan make better use of the water that you do have. That's going to have to be the first priority in countries including our own."

"Let's see what we do to protect our aquifers. Let's see what we do to be more efficient in the use of our water. Let's see what we do to capture more rainwater; how do we actually use less of it to produce more crops? We think we have some ideas with our experts that we want to sit down and talk with your experts about and see where that goes," she said in what appeared to be an effort to defuse Pakistani grievance.

The leader of the US delegation for Wednesday's talks offered a sobering assessment -- and perhaps a dampening one for Pakistan -- of the long road that lay before Islamabad before it could aspire to have the kind of ties New Delhi has developed with Washington.

Pressed repeatedly in two interviews she gave Pakistani TV networks ahead of the talks as to why Pakistan could not have a civilian nuclear agreement of the kind India signed with the US, Clinton said that deal was a "result of many, many years of strategic dialogue. It did not happen easily or quickly."

She was sure Pakistan was going to raise the issue of a civilian nuclear deal and "we're going to be considering it," she disclosed, but added "I can't prejudge or preempt what the outcome of our discussions will be."

The two interviews were full of querulous complaints and grievances expressed by the Pakistani questioners, reflecting the resentment of the country's establishment that has become the basis for talks. "How come the money (from the Kerry-Lugar aid bill) has been so slow in coming, because we desperately are in need of that money?" went one question.

"Well, the money is in what we call the pipeline. It's not easily conveyed because there are all these rules we have to follow, but it is being delivered," Clinton explained. "Money is coming forward. And we're well aware of Pakistan's financial challenges. We're going to do everything we can to expedite the flow."

 

[karan.1970]

Video: Interview with Secretary Clinton on US-Pakistan Strategic Dialogue

Key points in transcript

QUESTION: Just – if I want to spend 30 seconds more on that, in the sense that what you mentioned is an internal management of the water resources, and I want to remind you that you have recently launched the Global Hunger and Food Security Initiative in which you identified that (inaudible) hunger is a strategic part of the U.S. foreign policy. So I wonder that – will you still be persuaded by the Indian argument that Pakistan and India are a bilateral relationship and U.S. cannot play an active mediation between them? Maybe water will change that perspective, that perception?

SECRETARY CLINTON: Well, usually, where there is an agreement, as there is between India and Pakistan on water, with mediation techniques, arbitration built in, it would seem sensible to look to what already exists to try to resolve any of the bilateral problems between India and Pakistan. But in the course of the strategic dialogue, what we want to do is focus on the problem. If the problem is water or agriculture or energy, without looking externally, as we do in our other strategic dialogues, when we have a strategic dialogue with Russia, it’s between the United States and Russia.

Now, Russia may have trouble with China or with another neighbor in Eastern Europe, but our strategic dialogue is between the two of us. And our strategic dialogue with Pakistan, which we are taking to the ministerial level at the highest level of civilian democratic leadership, is what we want to build and really put on a strong footing for the future.

ON NUCLEAR AGREEMENT

QUESTION: Secretary, are we expecting on the issue of the energy – you mentioned yourself Pakistan has (inaudible). Are we expecting any, as a result of the strategic dialogue, a civilian nuclear cooperation between the United States and Pakistan?

SECRETARY CLINTON: Well, we have a very broad agenda laid out for this. I don’t want to prejudge or preempt what we are going to talk about because we haven’t held it yet, as we – you and I are being – holding our conversation. We’re going to have many issues, including that one, which the Pakistani delegation wishes to raise. And we’re going to really go deep into all of these.

Now, this is the first meeting, and we have to set up the mechanism for going forward. I look forward to coming back to Pakistan in the future myself to continue this dialogue. I tried to start it in October when I was there. I feel very personally committed. I have many, many Pakistani American friends and now many friends in Pakistan who are really counting on us to have a very thorough examination of all these different issues.

We can’t prejudge it. We don’t know what the path will be. I have been in enough of these dialogues to know that you can have an idea, but it might take years to develop. So we have to sort it out and see, in a prioritized way, how we move forward.

QUESTION: One related question comes to mind, is that Pakistan is a de facto nuclear power since 1998. Are we expecting, at some stage, United States accepting Pakistan as a nuclear power?

SECRETARY CLINTON: Well, again, I don’t want to prejudge or preempt. I think part of what we have to do – and we are building the basis of what I hope will be an open, transparent, frank relationship between us. That’s what countries that develop that level of trust and confidence can do with each other. I well remember being in Pakistan in October and being told by many journalists and many others that there was a trust deficit, we did not trust each other. I think the fact that we have come to a point where we’re going to have a serious strategic dialogue at the highest level of government is quite a move.

But I am absolutely convinced we have a long way to go. We can’t just wave that magic wand and say we’ve eliminated the trust deficit, we fully understand each other. This takes time, and we have to build it step by step. But I’m very committed to this process.

 

[H2O3C4Nitrogen]

In U.S., Pakistan meetings, a chance to move past mutual 'trust deficit'


By Karen DeYoung and Karin Brulliard
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, March 24, 2010

When Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi's commercial flight to the United States stopped in Manchester, England, this week, the U.S. ambassador in London drove four hours to be there for the hour-long layover.

The goal was to avoid any unpleasantness -- including the possibility that British-based U.S. airline security might insist on body-scanning Qureshi -- that might start Wednesday's U.S.-Pakistan strategic dialogue in Washington off on the wrong foot.

As Pakistan and the United States struggle to overcome what both characterize as a mutual "trust deficit," the Obama administration hopes that the high-level talks will consolidate the new partnership the president promised last fall in exchange for Pakistan's cooperation in shutting down Taliban and al-Qaeda havens.

Relations have significantly improved in recent months, with a recent tripling of U.S. economic assistance, ongoing Pakistani military offensives against insurgent strongholds in the mountainous region bordering Afghanistan and the recent arrests of senior Taliban figures.

But the partnership remains precarious and prone to suspicion, eruptions and posturing. Both sides are looking for additional commitments, according to officials in Washington and Islamabad who spoke on the condition of anonymity on the eve of the talks.

"The Pakistanis are not stupid," a U.S. official said. "They know this is not China or Taiwan or India, where we have a long-run business investment driving the partnership. We have a war and we need them. They are suspicious that we're going to leave. But they also want to take maximum advantage of their moment in the sun."

The administration has mobilized its senior national security team for the talks, hosted by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and including Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates and Adm. Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, along with top trade, economic and aid officials.

Qureshi heads a Pakistani delegation of senior cabinet officials, as well as the powerful army chief, Gen. Ashfaq Kiyani, who is viewed as driving the nation's agenda. Kiyani arrived Sunday at Central Command headquarters in Tampa for meetings with Gen. David H. Petraeus, and had separate meetings here Monday and Tuesday with Gates and Mullen.

Pakistan is expected to reiterate long-standing requests for armed drone aircraft, officials said, as well for additional helicopters and other equipment. Resentful of U.S. accounting demands, the Pakistani military wants a smoother transfer of money to support its counterterrorism efforts; its civilian government wants more control over economic assistance programs, trade concessions and increased U.S. market access.

Pakistani officials are also seeking reassurance that a substantial U.S. military presence will remain in Afghanistan long after Obama's promised withdrawal begins in mid-2011 and that their traditional adversary, India, will not be allowed to expand its strategic presence there. The Pakistani military and intelligence service see their long-standing relationship with the Afghan Taliban as insurance against the possibility of an unfriendly government in Kabul. In exchange for weakening those ties, they want a seat at the table for any Afghan reconciliation talks, and a guarantee that U.S. commitments will not evaporate if and when the Taliban and al-Qaeda are no longer deemed a U.S. security threat.

"There is a sort of panic in Pakistan that the endgame may be earlier than Pakistan had thought, and that Pakistan isn't positioned well at all to protect its own interests," said Tanvir Ahmad Khan, director of the Institute for Strategic Studies in Islamabad and a former Pakistani foreign secretary.

Gen. Ahmed Shuja Pasha, head of Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence directorate, is willing to significantly cut back the links, while not severing them, a senior Pakistani official said. "It's not possible to tell [Jalalludin] Haqqani to pack it in," the official said, referring to the leader of one of the main al-Qaeda-allied insurgent groups that is based in Pakistan and active in Afghanistan. "But they can cut off stipends" and limit the group's movements.

"Part of the price," the official said, "is that you're not going to screw us. You're not going to get us into a fight with these guys and then you leave us."

A new, $7.5 billion U.S. civilian aid package to Pakistan has been criticized there as insufficient for a frontline state in the U.S. battle against Islamist extremists. Qureshi told reporters last week that Pakistan has "done too much" in offensives in the border territories, and that its delegation would ask the United States to "start delivering."

Pakistani analysts said the hype about what the United States owes Pakistan, in a nation where anti-American sentiment runs high, could end in a backlash if Pakistani officials come back with little to show.

"The outcome cannot possibly conform to what the Pakistanis have been led to think," Khan said.

U.S. officials say that there is little chance the administration will add armed drones to its military aid package. But Petraeus is already negotiating additional military equipment Pakistan says it needs to extend its offensive against the insurgents into the al-Qaeda stronghold of North Waziristan.

"Like any relationship, you look for signs of commitment," the U.S. official said. The Obama administration believes it has already made a substantial commitment to Pakistan, he said, but "they look at that and say 'Yes, but what else?' "
Brulliard reported from Islamabad.

washingtonpost.com[/

 

[H2O3C4Nitrogen]

guess we should not set higher hopes , but still Pakistan has something huge to offer and for that it should be entertained in a parity ..!

 

[pkd]

Clinton begins Pak-US strategic talks

WASHINGTON: US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Wednesday opened high-level talks with Pakistan, pledging that a "new day" had begun in the often fractious ties between the two nations.

Setting the Pak-US strategic dialogue in motion, Hillary Clinton lauded the role of Pakistan towards establishment of peace in South Asia and termed the security and stability of Pakistan a top priority.

Pointing to Pakistan's growing action against Islamic extremism, Clinton pledged full support, saying, "Its struggles are our struggles."

But she acknowledged that the two nations "have had our misunderstandings and disagreements in the past."

"There are sure to be more disagreements in the future, as there are between any friends or, frankly, any family members," she said.

"But this is a new day. For the past year, the Obama administration has shown in our words and deeds a different approach and attitude toward
Clinton begins Pak-US strategic talks

 

[Napalm]

Pak gives US 56-page wish list to counter India's might
Pak's 56-page wish list to counter India's might: Rediff.com India News

As the United States and Pakistan open their strategic dialogue to strengthen rocky ties, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi has submitted a new weapon wish list to America looking for big ticket systems.

The 56-page wish list submitted to the Obama [ Images ] administration by Pakistan in fact mostly seeks those equipments that can bring the country on par with the military might of India [ Images ].

Post 9/11, Pakistan has received more than $7 billion worth of arms sale from the US, authoritative sources said.

In fact, major US arms sales and grants to Pakistan since 2001 have included items useful for counter terrorism and counterinsurgency operations, along with a number of "big ticket" platforms more suited to conventional warfare; which is primarily targeted against India.

According to Pentagon [ Images ] reports, total Foreign Military Sales agreements with Pakistan worth about $5 billion for FY2002-FY2009 (in-process sales of F-16 combat aircraft and related equipment account for about three-quarters of this).

The US also has provided Pakistan with more than $2.1 billion in Foreign Military Financing (FMF) since 2001 (including scheduled FY2010 funds). These funds are used to purchase US military equipment for longer-term modernisation efforts.

Pakistan has also been granted US defence supplies as Excess Defence Articles (EDA), the sources said.

Some of the major post-2001 defence supplies provided, or soon to be provided, under FMF include:

* Eight P-3C Orion maritime patrol aircraft and their refurbishment (valued at $474 million);
* About five 250 TOW anti-armor missiles ($186 million; 2,007 delivered);
* More than 5,600 military radio sets ($163 million);
* Six AN/TPS-77 surveillance radars ($100 million);
* Six C-130E transport aircraft and their refurbishment ($76 million);
* Five refurbished SH-2I Super Seasprite maritime helicopters granted under EDA ($67 million);
* One ex-Oliver Hazard Perry class missile frigate via EDA ($65 million);
* 20 AH-1F Cobra attack helicopters via EDA ($48 million, 12 refurbished and delivered);
* 21 refurbished TOW missile launchers ($25 million).

Supplies paid for with a mix of Pakistani national funds and FMF include:

* Up to 60 Mid-Life Update kits for F-16A/B combat aircraft (valued at $891 million, with $477 million of this in FMF, Pakistan currently plans to purchase 35 such kits);
* 115 M-109 self-propelled howitzers ($87 million, with $53 million in FMF)

Notable items paid or to be paid for entirely with Pakistani national funds include:

* 18 new F-16C/D Block 50/52 combat aircraft (valued at $1.43 billion; none delivered to date);
* F-16 armaments, including 500 AMRAAM air-to-air missiles; 1,450 2,000-pound bombs; 500 JDAM Tail Kits for gravity bombs; and 1,600 Enhanced Paveway laser-guided kits, also for gravity bombs ($629 million);
* 100 Harpoon anti-ship missiles ($298 million)
* 500 Sidewinder air-to-air missiles ($95 million);
* Six Phalanx Close-In Weapons System naval guns ($80 million)

While the Pentagon notified Congress on the possible transfer to Pakistan of three P-3B aircraft as EDA grants that would be modified to carry the E-2C Hawkeye airborne early warning suite in a deal worth up to $855 million, this effort has not progressed beyond the notification stage; the sources said.

Other major EDA grants since 2001 include 14 F-16A/B combat aircraft and 39 T-37 military trainer jets. Under Coalition Support Funds (part of the Pentagon budget), Pakistan has received 26 Bell 412 utility helicopters, along with related parts and maintenance, valued at $235 million.

Besides, Pakistan has received helicopter spare parts, various night vision devices, radios, body armor, helmets, first aid kits, litters, and large quantities of other individual soldier equipment; according to the Department of Defence.

 

[Napalm]

US ready to help fulfil Pak's energy needs: Hillary
Ready to help fulfil Pak's energy needs: Hillary: Rediff.com India News

United States on Wednesday hinted at offering Pakistan a nuclear deal on the lines of the one inked with New Delhi [ Images ].

Addressing a joint press conference in Washington along with Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton [ Images ] said that over the next few days the strategic talks will focus on Pakistan's energy and water needs.

"Pakistan's struggle is our struggle. The Taliban [ Images ] wants to destabilise Pakistan. We shall offer all our help to Islamabad [ Images ]," she said.

Asserting that the strategic talks between Pakistan and United States were good for peace in the region, Clinton said: "A stable Pakistan is in the best interests of the world. Today's dialogue is not the last."

Before the start of strategic talks between the two countries, Pakistan had submitted a 56-page document to the Obama [ Images ] administration seeking, among other things, a nuclear deal and drone technology.

 

[pkd]

Stability in Pak very important to us: US

The US Secretary of State and Pakistan Foreign Minister Mahmoud Qureshi addressed a joint news conference following their meeting at the State Department in Washington, DC on Wednesday. Speaking after the first US-Pakistan strategic talks, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has said that Pakistan's stability and strengthening its security is very important to the US.

Speaking first, Hillary said: "Pakistan is close to my heart, Pakistan's struggles are my struggles and I am committed to the success of this dialogue."

Hillary also lauded the work done by Pakistan Army in fighting terror. She said Pakistan is no longer unaided, US is proud to stand with it.

"US and Pakistan have always come together in critical times. Today's dialogue first in a series of substantive discussions, next round of strategic dialogue will be in Islamabad," Hillary said.

Earlier, top US Senator John Kerry welcomed Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi to the Capitol, along with Pakistan's Army Chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani and ISI chief Shuja Pasha.

This is the first time the Pakistani Army and the ISI are participating in a dialogue with the United States. New Delhi is keenly watching the developments of the day-long dialogue.
Pakistan had already submitted a 56-page wishlist to Washington. Pakistan's Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said Pakistan is very clear about what it wants:

Pakistani wants "shoot-and-kill" drones being used by the United States to target militants, closely-held technology that Washington is reluctant to share.

More help on water and energy as Pakistan struggles with daily power cuts across the country
Pakistan is also interested in a civilian nuclear arrangement with Washington, much like India has

Another area Pakistan wants to cover in the talks this week is India's growing role in Afghanistan
The 56-page document, set to be discussed in talks in Washington during the two-day meet, covers a range of demands.

The Pentagon, meanwhile, has played down the chance of any big announcement of fresh aid.

"This is a dialogue designed to produce a better long-term strategic relationship between our two countries. This is not simply about asking and receiving items," said the Pentagon press secretary.