US generating 'ill will': Pakistan

ISLAMABAD - Pakistan on Monday asked the United States to expedite the approval of Kerry-Lugar Bill with no conditionalities attached to it and to stop drone attacks on the countrys restive tribal areas.
Top US Senator John Kerry, who arrived here Monday morning on a two-day visit, held separate meetings with President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi and ISI chief Lt Gen Shuja Pasha.
President Zardari called for expediting the Kerry-Lugar Bill and its passage without any conditions and the Reconstruction Oppurtunity Zones (ROZs) legislation in the US Senate, besides the need for working out a joint strategy to counter terrorism.
In his response, Senator Kerry said no conditions were being attached to Kerry-Lugar Bill and those were some measures for the effectiveness of the projects to be undertaken once the aid was delivered to Pakistan.
Prime Minister Gilani, in his meeting with Senator Kerry, asked the United States to stop drone attacks inside Pakistan and not to attach conditionalities to the assistance to fight militancy and extremism.
The prime minister said the negative messaging emanating from the US and the West was generating ill will, according to an official statement.
During a news conference later with Foreign Minister Qureshi, the US Senator sidestepped sharp questions by journalists on US drone strikes on militants targets in Pakistani territory.
He said he would convey Pakistani dismay over the repeated drone attacks to his colleagues in Washington.
He said, I am here to learn, I am here to listen and I have heard this complaint loudly and clearly, and I intend to report back to Washington the points of view I am hearing here and I am confident people will review it.
When asked about US allegations that Pakistans intelligence agencies were assisting the Taliban, he said he had a good meeting with the ISI chief Lt Gen Pasha.
He said, I think that he (ISI chief) and your government are making enormous efforts to guarantee the absolute cooperation and accountability of the intelligence efforts in this country.
Lauding the role of Pakistan in global fight against terrorism, Senator Kerry said, Pakistan Government is committed to fighting extremism and terrorism and is extending help and cooperation to the international community.
He said extremism and terrorism were global problems and they needed global response to face them.
He said extremist elements were present all over the world including US, Europe, Afghanistan and other parts of the globe, but there was a need for cooperation and joint efforts to deal with them.
He said the causes of extremism could be different from region to region and could be linked to religion, ideology or poverty.
He said he was here to discuss the new way forward for more economic cooperation to provide basic needs of life like food, education, health and roads to the people of Pakistan.
Senator Kerry said international community and even Pakistan had been facing economic challenges, therefore, US would extend its full help and assistance to face these challenges.
He said besides concentrating on the improvement of food, health and educational facilities, assistance and cooperation would also be provided to Pakistan in energy sector.
Senator Kerry said, We have to develop long-term relationship between the people of two countries.
To a question on Pak-India relations, Senator Kerry said, Both the countries have strong and vibrant political system and both are committed to having better future, therefore they can resolve their disputes through dialogue process.
He said before Mumbai attacks, there had been development in the bilateral relations of these two countries. He hoped that the two sides would find a new way forward in their relations with the help of international community including the United States.
Foreign Minister Qureshi termed the meeting with Senator John Kerry very positive and constructive. He said, John Kerry has demonstrated his commitment to providing economic assistance to Pakistan.
He said during the good discussion today (Monday) they exchanged views on the way forward for finding a suitable mechanism of implementing new policy of President Obama administration towards Pakistan and Afghanistan.
He said that he also conveyed the feelings of Pakistan Government and its desire to have consensus through Parliament to deal with the economic and social challenges.
The Foreign Minister said the parliamentary committee would prepare its action plan that would be discussed with the Obama administration during his next visit to Washington in early May.
He said that he informed Senator Kerry, We were friends and allies. We need to find mechanism to bridge the gap by talking to each other and exchanging views on all subjects.
Answering a question on any conditionality attached to US economic aid, the Foreign Minister said it was too early as the bill was to be discussed and processed before assuming a final shape.
Earlier, Senator John Kerry, Chairman of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee, called on Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani.
On the occasion, the Prime Minister said that the US should not attach conditions to the assistance package being presented to the US Congress, as the aid with strings would fail to generate the desired goodwill and results in Pakistan.
He emphasized that the strategic and multifaceted partnership of the two countries should be based on mutual respect and mutual trust and both sides should work together to reduce the trust deficit which was harming rather than further strengthening the bilateral ties.
The Prime Minister reaffirmed that Pakistan was victim of militancy and terrorism and would continue to act as bulwark in eradicating this menace in its own interest as well as in the interest of the world at large. He stressed that the US drone attacks and consequent collateral damage, however, were impeding his Governments efforts in this regard. The Prime Minister also pointed out that the negative messaging emanating from the US and the West was generating ill will.
The Prime Minister urged the Senator that the US Government must take this fact into account that Pakistan could not ignore its eastern border and hence should play a role in resolving all outstanding issues including the core issue of Kashmir between Pakistan and India so that Pakistan can focus entirely on the western front.
Senator John Kerry informed the Prime Minister that he and his colleagues in the US Senate were working with the House of Representatives for the passage of the legislation for providing Pakistan the much-needed economic and military assistance package. Senator Kerry was hopeful that Pakistans concerns would be fully accommodated in the final version of the legislation. He said that the US wanted to build its long-term relationship with Pakistan beyond the issue of terrorism.
Senator Kerry stated that he respected the way the Prime Minister handled the domestic political situation last month to bring all the political stakeholders in the country on board in respect of important national issues. He hoped that with the Prime Ministers concerted efforts, Government of Pakistan would be able to overcome its economic difficulties by creating conducive environment for foreign investment.